A Safer 2nd Dimension?
by veryloyalfan
Summary: After "Platyborg's Agent Predicament" is resolved, Perry and his family continue to protect the Tri-State Area, and anyone else that needs their help. But when a new villain steps forward, it seems even they are going to need help! Will their combined efforts be enough to save the 2nd dimension; again? I don't own P&F, or the movie ATSD
1. One Summer Day

**A/N: This is a sequel to Platyborg's Agent Predicament, which I wrote as a sequel to the movie, Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension. It takes place in the second dimension, and Annie Jamison, known by most as AJ is my OC.**

**Official disclaimer for entire Fan-Fiction: I do not own the show, the movie, the characters, the places, the ideas, or otherwise, unless they are original. I am not making profit by writing this.**

**Thank you in advance for reading this, and I hope you enjoy!**

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><p><strong>One Summer Day<strong>

Platyborg stretched out lazily in the sun-warmed grass, and smiled. He'd just woken up from a nap, and it had been free from nightmares… which was normal now.

Oh he still had a few bad nights. After all, you don't go through something like that and escape completely sane. At first, his dreams had had him either being taken apart by Doofenshmirtz, or, worse still, chasing down his family as Doofenshmirtz's evil general.

He shook off those thoughts, and reminded himself that the mind control chip Doofenshmirtz had implanted was now gone, along with the sensors that had allowed him to be controlled by a remote. Doofenshmirtz might still be out there, but he no longer stood a chance at getting to him.

He frowned worriedly. _There's always my family… He's used them against me… twice now! _His gaze darted over to the middle of the lawn, where his boys, Phineas and Ferb, where starting to build some sort of train-track.

He stood up, not really feeling like a nap all of a sudden, and scanned the area.

AJ noticed, and came to sit down next to him. "I know. It feels weird, doesn't it? Not having anything to do…"

He nodded .

She brightened, in typical AJ fashion. "But, hey! That just means everyone's safe! Right?"

He gave another nod, grateful that his neck didn't creak and groan like an old clothes dryer. When AJ and the rest of the resistance had saved him from Doofenshmirtz, and practically rebuilt him, they'd made a few, subtle changes to his design.

He could still fly, but they'd coated his metal body so that he could now swim as well. The corners of had been smoothed out, and the spike that had been on his tail was now gone. His weapons, too, had been removed. Now his arms could change into a grappling hook, instead of a mace. There were other useful things for a secret agent too.

AJ reached to pet him, and he began to relax again. His family was safe, just like they had been for the last few weeks. This feeling that something was going to happen, that kept growing stronger with each passing day, must just be nerves. Like AJ said, it was weird to have nothing to do.

"The OWCA is using those cameras that Phineas and Ferb made to monitor the city. If they need us, we'll know about it."

He gave a quiet chatter. _Thanks._

She winked at him, with a warm smile, reminding him that she'd be there for him, no matter what, just like always.

Even when those cameras spotted that inevitable sign of trouble…

**To be continued...**

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry to everyone who's already read Platyborg's Agent Predicament, this just kinda explained what was going on. Not a lot of new stuff here. Next chapter should be a lot better!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Back To Work

**Back to Work**

Another week passed, giving Platyborg not only enough time to recover completely, but to begin training again as well.

AJ, who had been injured by Doofenshmirtz's Platyborg-Retrieve-Inator, had made as much of a comeback as she was going to. She still tended to favor her ankle, but that was probably more due to the fact that Platyborg himself had attacked her… just before Doofenshmirtz had been defeated the first time.

She and Candace had been using the lack of evil activity to give the boys some proper training. Even though they were still too young to actually fight, nobody on the team wanted to leave them unprepared in case of emergency.

They were doing really well though, and Platyborg was beginning to think they could take care of themselves. Not that he was ever going to let them get into a situation where they would have to while he was still _breathing_. But it did make him feel a bit better.

Ferb seemed to pick up on fighting moves very quickly. He already loved to mimic the shoe-nun-chuck thing he'd seen his first dimension counter part do. And he always seemed to have some sort of condiment close at hand, be it mustard or relish, that he could somehow turn into a weapon.*

Phineas wasn't as quick as his brother, but Platyborg had worried a little less about him ever since he had discovered the small knife that the boy had started wearing. ******

They were actually training with Candace right now, while AJ and Platyborg watched their every move critically from the sidelines.

_Hmm, Phineas needs to be a bit quicker at the offence… still, he _is_ fighting his older sister… he'd probably do better if he wasn't trying to hurt her._

He smirked at the thought. Phineas, hurt Candace? The girl was used to taking down Norm-bots. Thank goodness there weren't anymore of those around…

_Nice block, Ferb! _He cheered silently. Ferb's offence had been improving as rapidly as his defense.

"They've really come a long way, in such a short time"

He beamed with pride as AJ voiced it, relieved that she thought so too.

All of a sudden, there was a beeping sound. He looked around wildly, before deciding that it was coming from his watch. _Arm. _He corrected himself with a twinge of regret that was quickly pushed aside. No time to dwell on the past now. He was a cyborg, and there was no changing it.

That didn't help him figure out what to do with these new buttons though. AJ bent to one knee and showed him how to activate the video.

"Ah, Agent P!" It was Monogram, looking grave… not that that was out of the ordinary… "And you're here too AJ, excellent."

"Something up, sir?" There was an edge to her voice that betrayed her concern.

Perry felt his heartbeat quicken. _This is it. Someone's threatening the Tri-State-Area again._

Monogram sighed. "I'm afraid so, AJ. It seems there's been some sort of activity… at the old Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated building."

Perry sucked in a quick gasp, and turned his head to stare at Annie. Her face paled slightly, and her eyes widened, then narrowed into complete contempt. If anyone hated Doofenshmirtz for what he'd done to Perry, it was Annie. And from the look on her face right now, he didn't know if he wanted to be around now that she'd finally get a chance to make the former dictator answer for what he'd done.

Despite his concern, his beak tipped upward into a smile. No matter how much she might like too, Annie just wasn't capable of anything of the kind.

He placed his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.

Monogram continued once he was sure his words had sunk in enough. "As you're both all too aware, we have no idea what he might be capable of. It's highly suspicious that he never turned himself in in order to get back his baby toy…"

_Choo-Choo. _Platyborg corrected mentally. His face pinched into a scowl at what the loss of that stupid toy train had cost everyone.

"… so you'll both need to be on your guard. Now I don't even want to hear that either of you would rather go in alone, because that's not going to happen."

_But sir…_

"But sir…"

Monogram cut of her voice and his thoughts. "Don't want to hear it! You're going together. No go find out what he's doing, and put a stop to it."

Platyborg considered flying off and leaving her in safety for a brief moment, then caught the look in her eyes. This time, the anger was directed at him.

"There is no way that I'm going to let you go alone. C'mon."

He followed along behind her, casting a glance at the rest of his family. Phineas and Ferb were too caught up in their training to notice that they were leaving, but Candace turned and gave him a nod to let him know she'd heard everything.

He smiled, and gave her a salute. _We'll be careful._

**Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated**

AJ insisted on leading the way into the building, but Platyborg was so close to her heels, that he kept running into them.

The last time Platyborg had seen Doofenshmirtz, the man had been taking him apart on the operation table.

But then, the last time AJ had seen him, he'd been running away after Candace had hit him with a de-evil-inator.

Which Doofenshmirtz was in the next room?

As AJ peered around the corner, there was sudden crash from above her, followed by groaning metal. Platyborg tackled her to the ground as an old metal rafter swung down, missing them by mere inches.

"Well _that_ was unexpected."

They both gasped in shock, and stared up at Doofenshmirtz, standing on the other side of the room with his arms crossed.

Platyborg wanted nothing more at that moment than to move. He didn't know whether he'd dive at Doofenshmirtz, tie him up, and drag him off to be locked away and never heard from again, or whether he'd grab AJ's hand and get them both out of there… but that part didn't matter, because he was frozen in absolute shock.

Doofenshmirtz scowled in contempt at the pair. "Well if it isn't my former general and his little friend."

His scowl deepened as his eye trailed over Platyborg's new, sleeker cybernetic body. "What was the matter with your old design? Never happy with anything, are you? You ungrateful little piece of trash! You were the worst thing I ever built!"

At that, AJ's shock, at least, seamed to wear off. She tried to get up, but Platyborg, still on her back anyway, quickly moved to pin her down. _Don't do anything rash…_

She struggled to get up, then settled for snapping, "You've got a lot of nerve… showing your face in the tri-state area again, after what you did!"

He gave a heavy sigh, and the scowl melted away. "Yeah. Probably. But I had to look for Choo-Choo. I know I should be plotting my revenge and all that, but…" another sigh. "It's all gone. I… I don't remember how I even did it the first time."

Platyborg looked down at AJ, and she gave a relieved nod. The De-Evil-Inator had worked. Doofenshmirtz was no longer the threat that he had been.

But their troubles weren't over yet. "So why'd Monogram send you down here?"

Platyborg blinked. _Your crimes against humanity escape your mind again, did they?_

He continued. "I mean, I'm here. Under house arrest, and….

AJ cut him off. "Under house arrest? After what you did? ! What is Monogram thinking?"

He shrugged. "I guess I have Perry the Platyborg to thank for that. After all, since they ruled that he couldn't be punished for the things he did when he was under my control, they figured they couldn't hold me completely responsible for the things I did under my inator's control."

Platyborg climbed off, and offered her a hand up. She scoffed, "Yeah. Like we're going to take your word for anything." She called Monogram, who was clearly waiting for her.

"I'm sorry AJ, but it looks like Doofenshmirtz, former dictator of the tri-state-area, is under house arrest, and nothing more. He's not allowed to leave, and it's now your job to check up on him every day, to make sure that he isn't doing anything too evil. Oh, and you're to take his box of inators away from him. They're by the door."

As Monogram cut off the connection, Platyborg gave a tired sigh. _Why us?_ The thought of having to face this monster every day sickened him. But in the end, he knew that he wouldn't have trusted anyone else to keep the evil scientist in line.

He went over to the box, and started digging through them.

Doofenshmirtz scowled again. "Oh come on, really, Platyborg? Really? You're going to go through my things right in front of me? Talk about rude… wait! What are you doing?"

Platyborg should have enjoyed the look of horror that crossed the mans face as he pulled out an old ray gun. He even tried to. But he was the good guy now, and the only thing that he enjoyed as he put another device on his head, and pulled the trigger, was the knowledge that Doofenshmirtz couldn't try to use his family against him anymore.

This was the inator that Doofenshmirtz had used to wipe hiss memories. Whatever the person who was holding the gun thought of as he pulled the trigger, was blocked in the other persons mind. Doofenshmirtz had used it on a much higher setting, blocking all of Perry's memories, but the platypus could be sure that the selective-amnesia-inator was very effective.

He tossed it back into the box, and helped AJ lug it out the door. A relieved smile broke out over his face as Doofenshmirtz yelled, "Hey, wait a minute… who's this girl with you? What… the OWCA thinks you need a partner? Who is she? Part of Monogram's agents or is she from the resistance? Platyborg! You get your metal posterior back here and answer me right now!"

Platyborg glanced at AJ, wondering if she'd understood what he'd done. Her wink told him everything he needed to know.

He gave a sigh of satisfaction as the scientist they left behind cried out, "Curse you Perry the Platyborg!"

**To be continued…**

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><p><strong>AN: I'd like to thank everyone for the reviews again, they mean a lot! You guys are great!**

*(** A little shout-out to NattyMc here! ;D**) ** (**Thanks Stinkfly3!)**

**The house arrest thing was a little far-fetched, but it was the only way I could keep Doofenshmirtz out of jail. Don't worry! He's still eviler that 1****st**** dimension Doof, I mean, come on! The jerk didn't offer even a hint of an apology for all he'd done to Perry! But he's not nearly as evil as he was.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. A New Plan

**A New Plan**

By the time Plattyborg and AJ had disposed of the Inators, and returned home, Phineas and Ferb were waiting worriedly in the window.

Candace had assured them multiple times that their pet wasn't going to vanish again, especially with AJ there to protect him, but she was starting to get worried herself.

They all remembered that fateful day when Perry hadn't come home, all too well.

Only recently had they discovered that their beloved pet had turned himself in, because Doofenshmirtz had threatened to hurt his family.

Candace still marveled at that… even in being turned into an evil, cybernetic platypus, their pet was loyal to the end. He'd gone alone that day. She had to keep reminding herself that. AJ hadn't been with him. AJ might have been able to help him then, and she was even more skilled now. They'd take care of each other.

"These are the tough choices people. Someone's got to be the adult here." She sighed. All those years trying to bust Doofenshmirtz had really taken their toll on her. So much for being a kid again.

Candace gave the side of the house an angry kick. "How did I grow up so fast?"

"You've been through a lot."

She spun around at the sound of AJ's quiet voice. The older girl offered a smile before she explained what had happened.

Candace took in the news slowly. "So he'll be monitored?"

AJ nodded. "Every day. And if I can't go with Perry, I'll find someone else who can. Doofenshmirtz is not getting his hands on him again."

Candace nodded in agreement. "Right. I'd go… but from what you've said, it might trigger a memory, and put my brothers in danger."

"Right. And what Perry needs, more than anything else right now, is to know that his family is safe. All of you."

Candace smiled then. It felt kind of nice, actually. Smiling still didn't come very easy for her anymore. "And you, too, AJ. You're as much family to him as we are. I still can't thank you enough for helping him out. He never would have pulled through without you."

AJ waved it off. "Seeing him happy again is more than enough thanks for me. I was so worried about him for a while there… it's just good to see him smiling again."

Candace knew that the older girl was confused by how well she'd taken the news that Doofenshmirtz was only under house arrest, but she oddly felt okay about it. As long as he didn't try anything… he could just stay up there.

….

Phineas and Ferb spun around at Platyborg's chatter.

"Perry!" Phineas gave an excited yell, and dove off the couch to hug his pet. Ferb somehow got there first, without a word.

Platyborg chattered again, feeling as if he would burst with joy. He'd missed them so much. Even when he hadn't remembered them, he'd missed them. He'd known something had been missing from his life.

Phineas pulled back from the hug, and scolded, "You shouldn't have just run off like that! We know you're an agent, so you can at least tell us when your leaving now!"

Platyborg ducked his head in shame, then smiled again as Phineas petted him. "Aw, I can't stay mad at you boy. Hey! Come see what we did to your old lair!"

Platyborg blinked, and stood to follow them, wondering when the boys had started fixing up his lair.

His mouth dropped open when he saw the results of their handy work. It. Was. Amazing!

All of the repairs that AJ had talked about before had been taken care of. Everything had been redesigned for his cybernetic body, and several new gadgets hung on the wall. Phineas took the first one down, and explained proudly, "This is the Water-Cannon 12, since it took us twelve tries to make it. It… probably won't be much use on your missions, but Ferb and I each have one too, so we can have an awesome water fight later!"

He moved on. "This one actually goes on you." He placed in on Platyborg's chest. "It's a camera/ scanner, that will let us see what you see on missions, and tell us if you're okay." Platyborg's bill quivered as he gave the boys another hug.

"And this one… will probably blow up. Don't use that one. It's still a work in progress. So… how about that water fight?"

Platyborg nodded happily, and the three of them grabbed their Water-Cannon 12's, and raced back to the elevator.

AJ stopped them at the door. "There you guys are! Rule number two is after mission snacks, remember?"

Platyborg smirked, wondering when that had become a solid rule, and followed his kids into the kitchen.

AJ dished them each up a huge bowl of victory ice-cream while she told the boys that Doofenshmirtz had been captured, and that they didn't need to worry about him coming after them anymore.

Suddenly, something in the room beeped. This time, it was Candace's pager. Phineas pushed a button under the table, and a screen lowered itself in front of them.

Candace put her glasses on. "Talk to me."

It was Dr. Baljeet. "I have finally managed to gather enough energy to open the portal backwards again. If you want to go through, it would have to be now."

AJ and Platyborg turned to stare at Candace. "Go back through? What are you talking about?"

Candace explained. "Into an alternate dimension. I want to see if there are other villains there that we might need to worry about. Since it's so much safer, I think the whole team should go, but we need to be careful not to meet ourselves."

Annie raised an eyebrow. "Or the universe will explode?"

She shook her head. "No. They had their memories erased. If they see us, then we'll blow their Perry's cover, and he'll be relocated. I don't remember seeing the alternate you, but, as far as I know, Agent P's the only one we can talk to. I'm hoping he'll give a hand. Does everyone agree?"

The other's exchanged glances. It sounded kind of out of the blue, but they knew Candace well enough to know she had planned this out. They nodded their agreement.

"Good. AJ, you're with me. Perry, I'm trusting you to keep these boys safe, and out of trouble, got that?"

Platyborg nodded, a little annoyed that she felt she had to tell him that.

"Great. Sorry guys, but your water fight will have to wait until we get back."


	4. Back to the 1st Dimension

**Back to the 1****st**** Dimension**

Stepping through that portal was like pushing a magic 'undo' button for Candace and AJ. This Danville had never been taken over by a crazy evil scientist. The girls were going to try and find OWCA headquarters, while it was the boys' job to track down Perry. Well, the Perry of this dimension anyway.

Platyborg did a quick scan with a device in his arm, and led the boys through the streets. _Hmm, doesn't look like he's home right now._

Platyborg figured his 1st dimension counterpart was probably off fighting Doof at this time of day. _Our best chance is to wait for him to come back home… oops!_

He'd forgotten that they couldn't be seen by this dimension's Phineas and Ferb, who happened to be in the back yard.

Thinking quick, Platyborg ducked behind the fence, and pulled his owners after him. He didn't think they'd been spotted yet, but there was no sense taking any chances. He hurried to the nearest house, and ducked in through the pet-door, then opened the door for his owners.

He looked around, and figured that the next room might have a window they could watch from.

He went in through the kitchen door, and froze as a woman turned from the counter.

_AJ? How did you get here so fast? Where's Candace?_ Then he noticed that she didn't have a small scar on her cheek. He gulped.

Her eyes were wide with shock. "P-P-Perry?"

He nodded, then shook his head. _I'm Perry, but not __your__ Perry…_

Luckily, Phineas and Ferb came in behind him. "Oh, there you are, 1st dimension AJ!"

She visably swallowed her shock. "1st dimension?"

Phineas nodded. "Yes. We're from the second dimension… the one that tried to take over your city a while back… oh, that's right! You weren't here, or else you would have had your memory wiped! Anyway, we're from an alternate dimension, in which a more evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz took over, after turned our Perry into a cyborg."

The look this Annie gave him was full of pity and horror. Platyborg shrugged, and gave small smile.

Ferb whispered something to Phineas, who exclaimed, "I forgot about that too! Do you know us in this dimension… or, more specifically, our pet?"

She gave a smile. "I know all of you, very well. I'm Perry's partner, so his cover's still safe. What are you doing in this dimension?"

After they explained, Annie pressed a button on her wrist watch, and a familiar chatter answered.

"Almost done?"

His alternate self must have nodded, because she said, "As soon as you get rid of that -inator, meet me here, ASAP." She closed the connection, and looked up at them. "He should be here in a few minutes. Okay, so… other dimension Perry…"

Phineas could see how this would get confusing. "Um, if you want to, you can call him Platyborg. We do. It's less confusing that way."

Platyborg nodded his consent.

"Platyborg then, what exactly do you need from Perry?"

He stepped forward, taking a list out from a compartment in his arm. Annie read it, nodding her approval. "A checklist of possible villains. You're off to a good start. I'm not sure how things are in your dimension, but I think I can add a few names to this."

As she did that, the pet door opened, and a slightly out-of-breath Perry raced into the kitchen. He skidded it a halt as he looked at the group, eyes widening in fear.

Platyborg chattered. "_It's okay. We haven't been seen by anyone else._"

Perry gave a relieved sigh, then chattered back. "_That's good. How've you been?_"

Platyborg shrugged. "_Things get better all the time._ _You?_"

Perry gave his alternate self's metal body a once over, then offered a look of sympathy. He was the only one who really understood exactly what Doofenshmirtz had done to him. "_I sure can't complain._"

All of a sudden, Platyborg's wrist communicator went off. He pressed a button, and his AJ appeared. "Candace has just been captured by a group that calls themselves, 'L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.'"

Platyborg gave questioning chatter, while Perry face palmed.

"That's right, I just said Love Muffin. But the group is a lot more threatening than they sound. Here…"

She switched the video feed to show Candace being ensnared by a dozen pairs of lab-coat clad arms.

"Why wasn't Doof at the meeting?"

The AJ on the camera blinked at the sound of her voice, and Platyborg turned the camera to show her 1st dimension counterpart watching Perry raise his hands in an 'I don't know' gesture.

Platyborg didn't miss the look of shock that crossed his AJ's face when she saw the other Perry. Hints of flash-backs played across her features before she shook them away, and took a deep breath. "Alright then. I just wanted to give you a heads up. See if they can help you contact the OWCA, and I'll let you know if you need to send back up."

Platyborg nodded with a worried chatter, and she assured him softly, "Don't worry. I'll get her out."

…

AJ shut off her connection, and turned straight into someone in a lab coat. They each gave a muffled cry as she fell on top of him. She raised her head, and gave a sharp squeal before leaping to her feet, and trying to run away.

He somehow managed to get up fast enough to grab her arm. "Whoa now! Take it EASY MC!"

She forced herself to calm down. This Doofenshmirtz wasn't wearing an eye patch. "MC?"

He rolled _both_ of his eyes. "Yeah, MC. You know? Short for Miss Chatty? Because I hate the way you talk so much compared to Perry the platypus? … Hey, why are you staring at me like that? You got a feaver or something?"

She took a slow breath. So he thought she was the other her… that made sense.

All of a sudden, he got excited. "Hey! I know why you're here!"

She gulped, thinking that the mission was compromised. "You do?"

He nodded happily. "Yeah! You're spying on L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.! Can I come? Please!"

She coughed. "You want to come?"

He dropped to his knees. "Yeah! They didn't even tell me they were having a meeting today! I mean, how rude is that? Please let me come? I'll help you with your little mission thingy! Please? Please, please, please, please, please?"

AJ groaned. "Alright! Fine!"

He stopped whining and jumped back to his feet again like a placated child. "Oh good! What's our mission?"

AJ blinked. "I though you were evil."

He crossed his arms. "I am! I am evilly getting revenge on L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. for not telling me about the meeting by helping you. So there." He stuck his tongue out at her, and she led the way towards the window while muttering something about him being _way_ more evil without his train.

He followed her. "What train? I never lost a train… oh wait! I did. I though it was stored away, but I went through my boxes the other day, and I noticed it was gone. So I'm more evil now? Cool! Oh we don't have to sneak in… I have a key to the back door. Come on!"

"Seriously?"

He nodded as he held the door open for her. "Yeah. Hey, you're usually nicer, and more, smiley. And since when do you have a scar?"

She thought quickly. "It's…umm, non-official-alternate reality day."

He smiled. "Oh good! Now it makes sense why I'm not being as evil as usual! By the way… where's Perry the platypus?"

….

Both Perrys were actually on their way to help rescue Candace. Platyborg had left the other Annie in charge of his boys at Perry's insistence that she could be trusted.

And Annie could be trusted. Unfortunately, his boys couldn't. Just as they made it to the building, Perry's watch beeped. It was Annie. "I'm sorry Perry, but the boys aren't here! They set up a trap in the living room, ambushed me, and tied me up. I only just got the knots undone. I think they're coming to help you two."

Perry gave a questioning chatter as he shut off the connection. "_Was that mustard in her hair?_"

Platyborg sighed. "_Yes. Yes it was._"

**To be continued…..**

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><p><strong> Dear Anonymous Reviewer, <strong>

**I didn't think your constructive criticism was offensive at all! Again, I really appreciate it! Thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad you like the story! -veryloyalfan**

**A/N: Thanks for reading!**


	5. Jealousy

**Jealousy  
><strong>

The pair of Perrys waited for Platyborg's owners to catch up. They passed the time by filling each other in on how life had been going in the alternate dimensions. Perry was glad to hear that things had gotten better in the second dimension, but Platyborg couldn't help but be jealous of him.

After all, here, Perry had never lost his family. Never attacked his partner. Never become a mostly metal contraption for the enemy. And his nemesis, was really more of a frenemy, from what Platyborg had seen. It had been evident at once that the two Doofenshmirtzs had been very different, but how different could the one from the first dimension really be?

He turned to Perry, and chattered, "_What's up with you and Doofenshmirtz anyway? I mean, why didn't you defeat him a long time ago?_"

Perry shrugged, and chattered back, "_He's not really that evil here. I mean, sure; he steps out of line every once and a while… but, for the most part, he just goes through the same old routines._" He smirked. "_Annie thinks he's absolutely insane, but she's getting used to him._"

Platyborg grinned back. "_Your__ Annie maybe. My Annie has a bout zero tolerance for any Doofenshmirtz._"

Of course, he had no way of knowing where AJ was now…

…

"Why do keep looking at me like you wanna punch me in the face? I'm helping you here!"

AJ rolled her eyes, not really caring if he noticed the way her fists clenched. She tried to remind herself that this Doofenshmirtz had never really done anything to anybody… yet.

Doof kept talking. "Anyway, this part is always tricky when there's a meeting going on. There are a few traps around here, and if you're not careful- AHHHHHhhhhhhh!"

AJ turned as he disappeared down a chute. "Great!" Maybe it was time to call in backup… but then again, she didn't want to worry Platyborg….

…

Phineas and Ferb skidded to a stop as Platyborg landed in front on them, arms crossed, with an angry chatter.

They had the grace to look slightly ashamed as Phineas explained, "We, uh, just though we could help!"

"All you've done so far is kept everyone waiting."

They all turned towards Annie's stern voice as she knelt to face the boys. Platyborg figured she knew the city better, so she'd been able to catch up relatively fast.

"Look, I know you two want to help your sister, but you're working in a team here, and that means that everyone needs to do their job. And right now, your job is sticking close."

Platyborg gave an angry chatter at that, but Annie just shrugged. "Our Phineas and Ferb are still playing outside. I don't dare sneak by them again."

Platyborg kept his arms crossed, then nodded slowly. He led the way into the building. With his bionic eye, he was able to scout out the traps, and they caught up to the second dimension AJ in no time.

She turned to face them, and both girls blinked at each other as if they were staring into a mirror. 1st dimension Annie spoke first. "You've trained these two pretty well… Annie."

_Well this is just awkward._

His Annie shoved the awkward moment aside. "AJ."

Annie asked. "You too, huh?"

AJ nodded. "Major Monogram?"

They both broke into mirrored smiles before AJ turned to the group as a whole. "Alright. So since we last talked, I met your Doof…enshmirtz."

Annie waved it off. "You can call him Doof. Everyone else does."

AJ shrugged. "Anyway, he thinks that I'm you, and he wants revenge on love muffin for not inviting him to this meeting, so he was helping me free Candace, and he fell down a trap door."

Annie sighed. "That sounds like Doof alright. Okay, so Doof is probably in some trap in the basement, and Candace is probably being held up here somewhere. If I know the L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. then they don't even know Doof is here yet. Why don't you four see if you can locate him? Just make sure that he only sees Perry, or else he might get suspicious, and start remembering the other dimension.

"AJ and I will see if we can find Candace."

They all nodded in agreement, and split up.

…...

Phineas knew his pet couldn't talk, but he still had the feeling that he was getting the silent treatment. "Perry?"

When both platypuses turned around, he cleared his throat, and tried again. "Oops. I mean, Platyborg. We're… you know… sorry. We should have stayed. It's just… we were worried about Candace, and about you too."

Platyborg gave them both a reassuring smile, and they continued down the hallway.

He didn't notice the look that passed over Perry's face.

After a while, they could hear Doof ahead of them, calling out, "Hellooooo? Is there anybody out there? 'Cause, this is getting pretty boring. C'mon guys! I'm a member for badness sakes!"

Perry face palmed, then turned to Platyborg, and chattered, "_Looks like we'll have to split up again. You take the boys, and take the hallway to the right when he's not looking. See if you can help Candace. I'll take him home, and meet you back here._"

Platyborg nodded, and motioned for his boys to keep to the shadows.

Perry stepped into the light, and scurried over to Doof's cell. The evil scientist seemed overjoyed to see his nemesis. "Perry the platypus! You already thwarted me today… and I'm not even doing anything evil right now… what are you doing here?"

Perry chattered, and pointed the bars that were holding him captive.

"Oh, you're going to free me?… Oh I get it! You're partner called you, right? So you know that I'm helping her out. Well this is great! We can all work together!"

Perry shook his head as he worked on the lock, and pointed towards the exit.

"You mean I have to go home? Aw poop. Why? I can help! Please?"

Platyborg quickly got the boys up the staircase before Doof could see any of them. He hated to abandon Perry to Doof's pleading, but he figured the platypus must be used to it by now.

Phineas glanced back. "It's… sort of weird. Seeing their Perry again. He looks just like you would, if… you know…"

He slammed into his pet as his words made Perry stop short, then Ferb slammed into both of them.

"Plattyborg?"

The cybernetic platypus was staring straight ahead, but there was no danger. He was in shock. He realized that Phineas was saying his name, but his statement tore at his heart.

_Like I would… did._ His breaths came in short, quick gasps. _They can't get used to the fact that I'm a cyborg…_

To be honest, Platyborg was still having a hard time with it himself. But he could understand why Phineas, and probably Ferb too, would prefer the way things had been. Flashbacks swept through his mind.

"_Sorry that he's mostly metal now…"_

"_That's okay! It just makes him extra cool!"_

But Phineas and Ferb were starting to build cool things every day. Surely they missed their pet.

_It won't ever be the same, Annie. I can't go for swims, or cuddle on your lap anymore. _

Well, he _could _swim now, but he was no longer the cuddly pet that he had been.

Phineas finally broke through his thoughts. "Platyborg! It's okay! I… I didn't mean it like that. It's just weird. And… well, if we could undo what Doofenshmirtz did to you, then we would… but, we still love you, just the way you are!"

Both boys pulled him into a hug. Phineas continued. "You're _our_ Perry. No matter what!"

Platyborg swiped at a tear, and smiled his thanks. He chattered. "_Let's go find Candace!"_

And the boys seemed to understand that perfectly.

**To be continued…**

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry, that's all I've got. The moment with the boys is a little late, but better late than never, right? And something's better than nothing… well, most of the time! ;)**

**Anonymous Reviewer; Thanks again! I'm glad you're enjoying the story! :D**

**Thanks for reading everyone!**


	6. Double Trouble

**Double Trouble**

Meanwhile, Annie and AJ had gone through the air ducts, trying to find out where Candace was being held. AJ had just finished telling Annie about everything that had happened in her dimension.

Annie asked, "So how is he doing now?"

"He's actually doing pretty well… considering."

"And you?"

AJ smiled sadly. It felt good to be able to vent to someone who, more or less, knew exactly how she felt on the subject. "It's… hard. I mean, I've watched him struggle with it, and I know how insecure he is."

"It wouldn't be fair to expect anything else from him. After all he's been through."

AJ nodded. "But I still miss those happy, carefree moments that you…" she trailed off, embarrassed.

Anne finished quietly. "That we take for granted. But you can't beat yourself up for that. It's all part of the job. Deep down, I know something could happen to me, or… to Perry." AJ knew all too well that the girl would prefer it to happen to herself. "We don't really ignore it… but we can't acknowledge it either. It's too hard. So I really don't know what to say to you, except, it could have been worse. Perry could have been killed. Or he could have killed one of you, and we both know that he couldn't have lived with that. You've still got him."

AJ nodded as she slipped out of the air duct, scanning the area as she waited for her 1st dimension counterpart to follow. "Thanks for the pep-talk."

Annie winked. "You'd do the same for me."

They would have broken into identical giggles at that, but a sound at the end of the hallway made their agent instincts take over. The headed for the door. AJ put her hand on the knob, and mouthed, "_One. Two. Three!"_

She swung the door open and pointed her blaster. She immediately lowered it as Platyborg moved to defend the boys, relaxing only when he saw that it was her.

She whispered. "What are you doing up here?"

Phineas explained how the other Perry had found Doofenshmirtz, and was waking him home.

Annie whispered behind them. "Alright then, the meeting room is right through that next door. That's probably where they're holding Candace. You four try to stay out of sight unless you're needed."

Platyborg and AJ exchanged a look, each shaking their heads. AJ spoke. "No. I'll go. Sorry. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that…"

Annie cut her off with a knowing smile. "I know. She's family. Alright, but be careful. Most of those scientist know me, thanks to Doof.

"Thanks for the heads up."

She carefully opened the door, and snuck in. Sure enough, Candace was tied to a chair, towards the front of the darkened room. All of the scientist were denying that she was their nemesis, and Candace was smart enough to keep her mouth shut. After a moment more, all of the attention turned to the ugly, pointy eared bald guy on the stage. "Surely there's _something_ we can do with her. We _evil_ after all."

AJ slipped to the front unnoticed, and quickly untied the girl. Just as they were about to sneak out, the door burst open.

AJ face palmed as Doofenshmirtz stormed in, with Perry the platypus skidding along behind him in a frantic attempt to stop him. "Alright, who's the wise guy who didn't invite me? And which one of you idiots didn't even tie the girl up?"

Someone turned the lights on, and everyone spun to stare at the two girls while Doof gulped in embarrassment. "Oops. Sorry about that, MC."

The scientists started closing in on them, but all of a sudden, Perry sprang into action, taking off his hat, and flinging it towards the light-switch. The room immediately went back.

AJ grabbed for Candace's hand, and tried to remember where the door was, but she was just as blind as everyone else in the room. Well, almost everyone. Above the din of the evil scientists trying to find the light-switch, the sound of a jetpack could be heard, and in a matter of seconds, Platyborg's hand grabbed AJ's wrist.

Knowing that her partner could see through his bionic eye, AJ let him lead her back to the others.

As soon as they were safely back in the lighted hallway, Annie motioned towards the exit. "Hurry, get back to my house."

They only hesitated for a moment, until she explained, "Perry's still in there, and he's just as blind as the rest of them. I need to stay and give him backup."

Platyborg stepped forward, offering to go, but Annie explained, "They might turn the lights back on any second now, and we can't risk having them see you."

With an almost evil grin, Platyborg went over to a conveniently located electrical box, and fried the circuits, shutting down the power for that room.

He disappeared back throw the door, and, within seconds, came back leading Perry.

The team quickly made their escape.

….

A half an hour later, with record of the L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. evil scientists in hand, Candace, Phineas, Ferb, AJ, and Platyborg prepared to return to their dimension.

AJ smiled. "At first, I kind of thought that you were insane; letting Doofenshmirtz run around free like that. But now I see how different he is here."

Annie shrugged. "That's just how the OWCA does things. Might I suggest that you give your Doof back his train?"

AJ nodded. "Definitely."

Platyborg was chattering his farewells too. "_Whatever you do, NEVER let Doof find out about your host family._"

Perry shook his head. "_No worries there._"

Platyborg sighed. "_Sorry, again, about… you know. Attacking you and everything."_

Perry shrugged. "_That was just your programming. Glad to see everything worked out._"

Platyborg gave his metal exterior a rueful look. "_Yeah. Mostly…. You know, no matter how hard I try, I can't stop envying you._"

Perry looked surprised. "_I've been trying not to envy __you__!_"

"_Me?_"

Perry nodded. "_Sure. I know how rough things have been, but, look how they are now. Phineas and Ferb know that you're not some mindless platypus that doesn't do much! You can have awesome adventures with them!_" Perry glanced towards his own house wistfully. "_If my secret ever comes out again, I'll lose my family._"

Platyborg broke into a smile as what Perry was saying sank in. He knew what he was saying. As much as he'd lost, he did still have his family, and they were closer to him now than they ever could have been before, cyborg or not.

As he followed them through the portal, he stopped to give Perry a quick salute, like last time.

Perry returned it, that wistful look still in his eyes. But before Platyborg could feel _too_ badly for him, Annie scooped him up and planted a kiss on top of his head, before giving the 2nd dimension agents a salute of her own.

The platypi grinned. They each had their lot to bear, and the right friends to help them bear it.

As the portal closed, and the 1st dimension faded from view, Platyborg raced over to the discarded water-cannons, and chattered excitedly.

Phineas and Ferb laughed, and raced for theirs.

It was good to be back.

**To be continued….**

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading!<strong>


	7. Storm Clouds

**Storm Clouds**

AJ sipped her coffee slowly in the kitchen, staring out the window. It was amazing how quickly dark, ominous storm clouds could morph into the white, fluffy banks that now floated overhead. It was even more amazing how quickly they could change back, without giving a moments notice.

Kind of like a typical day in the 2nd dimension.

This one started out with a cup of coffee. Soon, Platyborg thumped down the stairs, too groggy to be stealthy.

By the time he'd finished his coffee and Mr. and Mrs. Flynn Fletcher had left for work, though, he was all fired up and ready to check on Doofenshmirtz as quickly as possible, so that they could be back in time to play with the boys.

AJ smiled as he tugged her out the door. Whatever the other Perry had said to him, it sure had helped.

Such little things could change the course of a day, too. Things would have played out a lot differently if AJ had only decided to take her car. Instead, she figured a nice, leisurely walk would be good for them.

As she strolled along, chatting about the beautiful day to her partner, who listened as quietly as ever, with a pleasant smile on his bill, neither of them could sense that their little walk was going to cost.

Like usual, it wasn't just one choice that changed the day for the worst. It was that choice, added to another choice, added to another choice.

Still, if AJ hadn't left the car, Candace might not have decided to take a drive, and she certainly wouldn't have been able to use said car.

Again, if Candace hadn't borrowed AJ's car, then her brother's wouldn't have been left alone.

And that's where things went horribly wrong…

…...

Phineas bit his lip as he watched his sister drive away. Now was his chance… his first chance, really. And since this was his first chance, who could tell when he'd get another one?

Without so much as a word to his brother, he darted out the door. He'd been ready for this for weeks now, and he wasn't going to let this chance slip from his grasp. He took a left, then a right, then another left, and ended up in a rundown section of town that the grownups hadn't gotten around to restoring yet.

He slipped into an old warehouse, and slid a locked box out from its hiding place. A smile broke out over his face as he opened it. This was it. _His_ chance at the best day ever.

…..

Candace was careful to keep her face turned as she sped past AJ and Platyborg. When she got far enough ahead of them, she risked a glance in the mirror. Her pet actually looked happy.

It made her grit her teeth in determination. No one, was going to take that away from him again. _E__specially _not the reason she had left the house this morning.

She stepped down hard on the accelerator, and sped up to spin the car to a stop out back of a tall building.

Very few moments later found her storming through a door with only on thing on her mind. "Doofenshmirtz!"

The evil scientist looked up from the scale model of the town he was working on. "Who are you?"

She sent him a glare that should have melted him, right then and there.

"And why did you just burst in here like that? I mean, talk about rude! What did I ever do to you?"

That's when she remembered what AJ had told her about Platyborg wiping his memory of her. She shrugged it off. So much the better. "I'm just one of the people you've hurt."

That didn't seem to be enough for him. "Oh. Right. Well, I'm sorry about the whole, 'evil takeover thing'. But I'm not doing anything too evil right now. See? I'm building a track for my Choo-Choo! The OWCA gave him back, and I can keep him as long as I stay here."

She dove forward and snatched the toy from his hands. She had a sudden urge to slam that dumb train into the ground, and stomp it into oblivion. But she didn't. Instead, she set it down carefully, and used her now free hand to pin the former dictator against the wall.

"Well, as long as you keep playing with your little toys, everything will be just fine. But if you ever, e_ver_ get the bright idea to try and destroy your nemesis, or anyone else, ever again, there will be no crevice dark enough to hide you." For good measure, she flipped him over her head, slamming him into the ground, hard. "Got that?"

He trembled as he nodded his answer. "Uh, yeah. I mean NO! No, I wont hurt anyone. Yeah, I've got it… what are you so upset about?"

She again, resisted the urge to destroy his train, and sauntered to the door. Her confidence dimmed a bit as she saw that Platyborg and AJ hadn't been as far behind her as she'd thought.

AJ's face was the picture of shock, and Platyborg was giving her that 'we are _so_ talking about this later' look.

She tossed her hair and strode past them, determined not to let her fear show on any level. After all, it was just Perry. No matter how mad at her he might get, or how much he threatened, it wasn't like the little guy would actually do anything but scold her with that angry chatter of his. In fact, she was sure she heard a muted version as she walked past him…

…...

Phineas stepped back with a wide grin. "Awesome!" He couldn't wait to show the other kids! Even Ferb would have to agree that it was worth the risk…

He sighed. His step brother could have helped him make this even cooler… but Ferb had insisted that it just wasn't safe. "Phineas?"

He spun at the sound of his brother's rarely heard voice. "Hey, Ferb! Look!"

He _was_ looking. And he didn't like what he saw. "We've got to get out of here…"

Phineas laughed. "You worry too much! It's perfectly safe! And once we fix it up a little more, we'll be able to…"

He was cut off by the sound of groaning timbers. He blinked, and some of the fear he had gotten rid of with Doofenshmirtz's capture returned. "Ferb?"

Everything happened at once. Loud, mechanical sounds from outside the building were soon followed by scream. Something peered in the doorway, and fired a gun straight at the red-head.

Phineas barely had time to get out of the way, much less see what the thing was as it pounced on him.

He rolled, avoiding the mass of metal as he whipped his knife out, and began slashing at wires. It lost control, and ran straight into a support beam.

"Phineas!"

He turned, just as his brother collided with him, knocking him out of the way as the building began to crumble.

"Ferb!" He was too busy choking on dust and debris to try again for quite some time. But no matter how many times he called out, there was no answer. "Ferb? …Ferb? …Ferb!" He tried to move, but only succeeded in knocking over a pile of rubble, and sending up another cloud of dust. A spasm of coughing took him and he slowly lost consciousness…

…...

… Platyborg was furious that Candace would come here and face Doofenshmirtz by herself like that, but there wasn't anything he could do about it now. Not without doing more damage. As long as Doofenshmirtz never guessed who she was, he supposed no real harm had been done.

He blinked as he realized that AJ had smoothly taken over the conversation. "Well, it doesn't look like we're needed here today."

Doofenshmirtz got up slowly, rubbing at the base of his neck. "Are _you_ going to tell me who you are, or are you just going to start hitting me?"

Annie seemed to consider that one for a moment, but she apparently decided against picking up where Candace had left off. "It's AJ. I'm working with Perry over here to…"

"Huh? Oh, you mean Platyborg?"

Platyborg rolled his eye. _No, she meant the __other__ platypus behind her._

But Doofenshmirtz ignored her after that. His gaze became fixated on Platyborg. He clearly wanted to say something, but he seemed afraid to do it.

Finally, he sighed. "Look, Platyborg… about the whole… taking you -apart- thing…"

He trailed off, and glanced at his feet, unable to look the platypus in the face anymore. "That… that was uncalled for."

AJ coughed. "You think?"

Platyborg was shocked to see actual remorse on the man's face. He risked a glance over at AJ, and took careful note of her clenched fists. The pain on her face made it clear that she was reliving every terrible moment. _It's not fair to make her listen to this._

Before he'd even finished thinking it, he gave her a gentle shove towards the door. _I'll be fine._

She hesitated, then nodded. "I'll be right by the door." It was a reasurance for him, but also a warning for Doofenshmirtz. He gave a grateful nod, and closed the door, then turned back to the former dictator.

Doofenshmirtz swallowed, and rubbed his shoulder. "I was upset! I wanted you on _my_ side! I… I didn't really want to _hurt_ you. At least, not that badly."

Platyborg crossed his arms and gave a sarcastic chatter. _Too little, too late._ _You can't remember it now, but you tried to hurt my __family__!_

"I know it doesn't change things! I just… wanted you to know that… I'm sorry. I'm… glad the rest of the resistance found you in time. I just had to say something, you know? It's been driving me crazy! I can't believe I was actually going to take you apart… The nightmares have been terrible! I just keep reliving the pathetic little whimpers you were giving as I ripped you open…"

Platyborg gave a heavy sigh. _Okay, so you're sorry about trying to kill me. Can we __not__ bring this up again?_

Doofenshmirtz shrugged. "That's about it. I thought you deserved to know. The whole mind controlled cyborg thing? Brilliant! Destroying you? Biggest mistake I could make."

_This is just getting awkward. _

Doofenshmirtz caught the look. "Yeah… sorry. Wow. That was, kind of a lot to take in! So… are we good?"

Platyborg's bill twitched into a half smile as she shook his head, and pointed to himself. _I'm good. __You're __evil._

Doofenshmirtz rolled his eye. "Well, yeah! That's what I meant!"

The door crashed open, and AJ raced in, ruining the moment. "Perry, we gotta go! Now!"

Platyborg didn't even try to protest. Her tone was enough. He didn't need to see her chalk white face, feel the tremor in her hands to know that this peaceful, happy day had changed horribly fast…

**To be continued…**

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><p><strong>AN: Wow, this chapter seems kind of out of place… but I liked it too much to leave it out. Please let me know what you think! And if you have any ideas, changes, or critiques, I'd love to hear them! :D**

**Thanks for reading!**


	8. Thunderheads

**Thunderheads **

As soon as AJ was reasonable sure that Doofenshmirtz couldn't hear, she explained. "Candace just called. There's been an attack on the city… Did Doofenshmirtz say anything?"

Platyborg shook his head. The evil scientist hadn't even hinted at an attack, and he knew him well enough to know he couldn't resist gloating about something like that. Besides… it looked like he'd been playing with his precious train for some time now. No, he was reasonable sure that they had to look elsewhere for an explanation.

He shot AJ a suspicious glance. A robot attack? After what she was used to? There had to be something else wrong to get her so upset. Something that would make _him_ even more upset, or she would have spit it out by now. His eye widened in fear as he screeched to a halt. He yanked on her arm, bringer her down to eye level, so that he could see her face.

She knew there was no hiding it now. "She… couldn't find the boys."

Platyborg couldn't afford the luxury of shock. He deployed his wings, and took off, out the nearest window. He started scanning the city immediately, but there was no sign of them.

Below, he could see AJ leave the building, and head for home, no doubt going to meet up with Candace, or get her car.

Flying a little higher, he could see the part of the city that was under attack. His heart stopped. _If Phineas and Ferb are in __that__…_

If they weren't, chances were they were off building something, safe. At least, Platyborg hoped so. He knew he had to stop those robots. But if he couldn't help his boys because of it… he couldn't even think of the consequences…

…

Phineas slowly regained consciousness. Where…? Oh, yeah. He was laying in a pile of debris. "Ferb! Can you hear me?"

….

The lack of response, not even a thumbs up, was scarier than any nightmare he'd ever had. At least he could see, now that the dust had cleared a bit.

He wriggled free of the sheet-rock pinning him down, and climbed out of the rubble. This part of the city was abandoned and silent once again. "Ferb!"

He caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He thought he saw someone's foot, disappearing around the corner of a building. He raced after them. "Ferb?"

When the figure kept running, it dawned on him that this wasn't Ferb. But maybe it was someone who could help.

"No wait! Stop! Please! My brother's in that pile of rubble! We've got to get him out!"

Phineas stopped. Not because he wanted to, but because he had come to a dead end. But where'd the person he was chasing go? When he heard footsteps behind him, he quickly grabbed his knife, and spun around in a defensive stance. He wanted to call out. But for once, no words would come.

He chewed on his lip, wishing desperately he hadn't left home without some way to call Platyborg, or the girls. Right now, he'd even settle for Dr. Baljeet!

The footsteps had fallen silent. All of a sudden, Phineas felt _that_ feeling on the back of his neck. Tensing, he spun around in time to dodge the object hurtling towards him.

Even though he'd felt it coming, he still gave a yelp of surprise when he saw that someone _was_ behind him. "How did you…?"

The unknown figure flung another heavy metal disk towards his head. "Whoa! Dude! Stop it! Who are you anyway?"

The ugly bald-headed man scowled. "You might not know me now, but you will soon enough! Doofy thinks he's _soooo_ smart. Well I'll show him how smart he is!" He prepared to throw another disk.

Phineas's eye's narrowed, and he stood in a 'ready' position. He gave him the 'bring it on' sign, and spun his knife.

The man chuckled. "Oh _I'm_ not going to fight you." He grinned evilly as several robots like the one Phineas had defeated earlier came up behind the boy.

"You're going to give up. That is, if you really want to help your brother!"

Phineas sighed, and hung his head in defeat.

The man chuckled. "Finish him, then go find the other brat."

As the robot lunged for Phineas, he sprang back into action. "You said you'd help!"

"Hello! Evil!"

Phineas spun around, and dodged one robot while cutting the wires of another. He ducked through the opening this made, and raced out of the alley with the other robots in hot pursuit.

He got a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach as he realized that he was racing _away_ from Ferb. Still, better to lead this stupid machines away. If only they hadn't dismantled all those Norm-bots so they could rebuild the city! A couple of those things would really come in handy about now!

He leapt over a trash can, deliberately knocking it into the path of the robots behind him. It didn't slow them down much, but it gave a few more feet of lead. "Come on Phineas, think! I need a plan!"

But the first one that popped into his head, probably wasn't the best idea for someone who was only a couple of weeks along in his training.

As he turned to fight, he suddenly became aware that there were more robots than he had first counted. And they were closing in. As he clutched his knife, he refused to admit defeat. He had to get back to his brother.

The next few moments was nothing but a blur of metal, and a streak of red. Phineas used his smaller size to his advantage, slipping underneath the robots, and causing them to misfire, but it just wasn't enough.

A large, robotic hand swept down, and sent his knife flying out of his grasp.

Phineas took a step backwards; into the side of a building. He squeezed his eyes shut as the robot step back.

A laser was fired, and there was an explosion. But Phines didn't get hit. He blinked his eyes open, and slid to the ground in relief. "Perry!"

His pet was too busy disintegrating robots to acknowledge him just now, but that was fine with Phineas. He sat there, breathing heavily, trusting Platyborg to take care of the rest of them.

As the last one exploded into sparks, Platyborg swept down to him, and immediately began checking him over for injuries with a worried chatter.

Phineas smiled. "Am I ever glad to see you! It's alright, boy! I'm okay… Ferb! We've got to go help Ferb!"

Platyborg put a reassuring paw on his shoulder, and shook his head, pointing roughly towards home.

"He's home already? When? How?" He stopped firing off questions at the annoyed look from his silent pet.

As they headed back, the annoyance turned to anger. Phineas hung his head in shame as Platyborg silently brewed. "It's all my fault. I- I shouldn't have left the house. I didn't think that there would be an attack so soon. Is… is Ferb alright?"

When Platyborg turned around, his face had a softer look on it, and he even offered a smile. But the look in his eye scared Phineas. If Ferb was already back home, then why did Perry still look so worried?

**To be continued….**

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><p><strong>AN:  
><strong>

**I'm so excited! Phineas got almost a whole page! All to himself! (Not a huge deal for a show called "****Phineas**** and Ferb", I know, but it's a pretty big deal for me!**

**Feel free to comment! **

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. Rainstorm

**Rainstorm**

Phineas kept his chin up. He decided to be brave, and hope for the best. Maybe Ferb had gotten out, and went home to get help.

He smiled. That must be it! That's why Platyborg was so mad. His pet had just been scared… that's all.

As he followed Platyborg around the corner to their house, though, the sense of dread grew denser. He didn't really need to see the ambulance to know that things weren't fine.

That didn't soften the blow of seeing it there though.

He gave a muffled gasp, and froze, breathing heavily. His eyes were wide, staring, but not really seeing. Ferb… he just had to be okay!

In an instant, Platyborg was there, hugging him. Phineas stopped fighting back the tears as he buried his face into as much of the teal fur that he could.

"It's… it's all my fault!"

Even if Platyborg had been able to say anything, there was nothing to be said. The only comfort he could give his owner was his presence. He just hoped that Phineas would calm down quickly, so he could check on his other boy.

He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so utterly torn in two direction. One part of him needed to stay here and comfort Phineas, while the other urged him to go to Ferb. The tear that slipped down his bill was his own, and it wasn't lacking in company.

_It's going to be okay. Candace called to say she'd found Ferb… she didn't sound like anything was too serious…_

Phineas seemed to take the comfort he offered, and hugged him tighter. "Perry, what am I going to do? I… I should have gotten help, instead of going after that man. I should have just stayed home! If anything happens to Ferb…"

He was cut short by an angry chatter. _Stop it! You can't change what's happened!_

Platyborg knew the truth. It wasn't Phineas's fault. Phineas wasn't in charge of the boys' safety. Phineas wasn't supposed to protect them… that was _his_ job!

A door opened, and footsteps closed in on them. The forlorn pair sniffed in unison, and looked up at AJ.

Her voice was coated in sympathy. "Easy guys! Everything's okay. The doctor said that Ferb's going to be just fine."

At her words, Platyborg felt his bill quiver, and tears threatened again. In less then a second, AJ had dropped to her knees, and wrapped them both in a comforting hug. "It wasn't your fault. Either of you! Sometimes, we've just got to roll with the punches. Right, Perry?"

She ruffled Phineas's short hair, and rubbed under Perry's bill. "C'mon. Let's get you two cleaned up."

Taking one of their hands in each of hers, she led them into the house, quietly past the kitchen. Both boy and platypus looked into the living room, where an even more silent than usual boy lay on the couch. Candace was beside him.

She looked up, relief in her eyes when she saw her other brother. Platyborg watched the same incision he'd just battled flash across her face as she looked from Ferb to Phineas.

AJ stepped forward. "I'll look after him. Why don't you get these two a glass of water?"

"Thanks."

She sat them down at the table, and put her hands on her hips. "First things first… are you okay, Phineas?"

The boy nodded sadly, still looking towards the living room. "I'm fine."

She let out a relieved puff of air. "Good. And you, Perry?"

He nodded, somewhat surprised that she asked.

She turned to Phineas again. "Alright then. Now; what happened? Why were you two even out there!"

Phineas hung his head in shame, unable to answer. Platyborg let out a quiet chatter, and put his paw over his owner's hand.

Phineas sniffed, and looked up, eyes watering. "I left. Ferb, just came after me. Do you remember the old gym?"

At Candace's nod, he continued. "Well, a while back… when we were helping the resistance, Ferb and I found it, and though it would be cool to fix it up. So when everybody left, I went out there, and got started.

"I thought it would be a cool place to train. I thought maybe we could add a few things, and you and Perry and AJ could help us with our fighting… but, well, Ferb tried to tell me that the building wasn't safe. When he came to find me, these robots attacked, and one of them knocked the building down. Ferb pushed me out of the way… but… I guess he got hit instead. Then everything went kind of crazy. Some of the robots cornered me, but Perry showed up just in time.

"How did you find Ferb?"

Candace sighed. "Ferb left a note, telling us where he thought you'd gone. When we got there, and saw the rubble… we called in every available person to help. When we couldn't find you, AJ called Platyborg, so that he could scan the city."

Phineas had barely sipped at his water. He suddenly pushed away from the table, and asked, "Can I go see Ferb?"

She nodded. As Platyborg pushed back his chair to follow, she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks, Perry."

He looked up at her, raising an eyebrow. When was she going to learn? They might be her brothers, but they were _his_ boys! He'd do anything to keep his family safe.

She actually smiled at the look on his face, before following him into the living room.

What nobody seemed able to say, was that Ferb still hadn't woken up yet. His head was bandaged where he'd been hit, but from the bruises on his face, he'd taken the worst of it.

Candace slipped a hand around Phineas and Platyborg's shoulders, and the whole group just stood there, waiting for Ferb to wake up.

…...

**Late that Night**

Platyborg blinked his eye open, yawned, rolled over, and settled back down. He instantly jumped to his feet as he realized that something had just woken him up. Turning on the night vision in his bionic eye, he scanned the living room.

Candace's whisper assured him. "I was just getting some water. You want anything?"

Platyborg shrugged, and laid back down.

They were all taking turns sitting up with Ferb, but when his shift had ended, he hadn't been able to leave. There wouldn't have been much point anyway, because Phineas had brought his sleeping bag down, and curled up on the floor next to him.

Platyborg yawned again as Candace brought him back a glass of water. He gave a soft, thankful chatter, then looked up at Ferb. _How did I even fall asleep?_

The guilt nipped at him, plainly evident on his face, because Candace reached down to pet his head. "You're exhausted and you need to check on Doofenshmirtz tomorrow. Better try and get some more sleep. I'll wake you up if there's any change."

P;atyborg worried frown turned into a soft smile as Phineas wrapped his arms around him in his sleep. He'd worry about leaving to check on Doof tomorrow. Right now, his boys needed him. As he drifted back to sleep, something Phineas had said kept going through his mind.

He had a bad feeling about the attack. He and AJ just might have to take another look at the battlefield.

**To be continued…**

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. A Clap of Thunder

**A Clap of Thunder **

Platyborg jumped awake at the sound of the door opening. Instantly on the alert in case something was threatening his family, stood at a fighting pose, then blinked.

AJ released the doorknob with a sigh, letting her shoulders slump.

Platyborg shook his head in disbelief, and fought down a surge of very real anger as he realized that she was going to go check on Doofenshmirtz.

Alone.

A quick glance around the room confirmed that Ferb still hadn't woken up, and Linda and Lawrence had gotten back late last night.

He didn't remember waking up, but from the look of terror Linda was giving him right now, he must have done something _else_ to scare her.

Shooting an angry glare at his partner that contained pretty much all of his frustration, he marched over to her, and tapped him foot.

She grabbed the doorknob again, and turned it. "We'll be back in a bit, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher."

The woman was still staring at Platyborg like he was going to annihilate them all. "Take… take your time, dear!"

Even AJ was silent as they climbed into her car. She drove all of a hundred feet before she spoke softly. "Please stop looking at me like that."

He turned his head, and was shocked to see the venom that reflected back from the passenger's rearview mirror. He only meant to sigh, but a whimper tore through him.

Eyes still on the road, AJ reached to pet him. "I know. And I'm sorry. I just thought… well, I guess I didn't _really_ think… but, I thought that if I just checked on the idiot really quickly, you could stay with your family. I didn't mean to give you one more thing to worry about."

_One more thing to worry about? You have no idea! Annie, Ferb's sick! -Mom's still terrified of me, and she has every reason to be!-There's some new villain trying to take over, and now I have to worry about __you__ sneaking out to check on Doofenshmirtz alone! Isn't one look at me enough of a reminder what that man can do?_

Apparently she _did _have an idea what he was going through. "Perry, it would have been fine. The man was playing with his train yesterday! Even if that was a ruse, I doubt he would have tried anything. But if it upsets you that much, I wont try it again without talking to you first.

"Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher has been through a lot, and she's been away most of the time you've been home. Just give her a little more time. She's had to get used to quite a bit.

"And Ferb took a hard knock, but the doctor said that it really shouldn't have knocked him out like that. In fact, that's the first place I'm headed. I want to see if there's anything we can find out from that old gym, and around the area where Phineas was attacked."

Platyborg brightened a little at her words. As for her plan, he wasn't a bit surprised that it was so close to his own.

As she stopped the car at the old gym, she kept talking. "I just got to thinking last night, that if one of those robots had some kind of sleeping ray or something, it might explain why Ferb hasn't woken up yet. Just don't get your hopes up too much, because from what I've seen, sometimes a bump can do more damage than you think. He might just be out cold from that."

Platyborg nodded to let her know that he understood, but he was staring that the collapsed building in horror. _Phineas and Ferb were in that mess?_

He shook it off by reminding himself why they were here, and helped AJ paw through the rubble. Neither of them really knew what they were expecting to find, but as long as it helped, neither of them really cared.

….

Meanwhile, across town, a mysterious unnamed figure was sitting in a room behind a desk. The half of the room he was sitting in was so dark, his face wasn't visible. He seemed to be wearing black, but even that might have been a trick of the light. He sat with both hands on the desk, toying with something small.

A door opened, but a burly thug quickly filled in the hole, blocking the light once more. "We've got 'em in our sights boss. The girl and her tin can. You want me to give the order?"

The man chuckled, but his not even his voice had distinguishable features. "No. It's not going to go that easily on them. Neither of them is a threat to me anymore. No one in this dimension is! They all think they're so clever. That they can prevent me from stepping in to seize control of the city. Well let them. Let them to stop me. Let them try to take over for themselves. None of it will matter once I'm ready."

The thug shifted his weight. "So, you want us to stop following them?"

The man shook his head. "No, no I don't. They might not pose a threat, but I'm not stupid enough to chance them blunder onto my trail. Besides, their efforts might just amuse me. Have your men keep them in their sights, at all times."

The thug nodded. "Sure thing boss, but… they're slippery. We still haven't found their headquarters yet. After they check on Doofenshmirtz, they just vanish."

"Well find it them. Follow them. See where they go. It doesn't really matter to me, but _your_ life may well depend upon it."

The thug gulped, and backed out of the doorway. As he did, a ray of light shot across the desk, revealing the object in the man's hands.

It was a small knife, lost by one Phineas Flynn.

**To be continued….**

* * *

><p><strong>AN:  
><strong>

**Thanks for reading!**


	11. A Ray of Light

**A Ray of Light**

Platyborg blinked around the alleyway he'd found Phineas in just last night. When they'd left, the place had been littered with robots that had been turned into scrap metal.

Every last bolt had been removed.

AJ shook her head, knowing better than to ask her partner if he was sure this was the right place. "Well, one thing's for sure; whoever did this, didn't want us to trace this back to him."

Confused, Platyborg took the piece of metal they'd found back at the old gym, and held it up. It was the only evidence they'd found of a robot there. A twisted control panel cover, that seemed to be the second half of a word. '-Izer'

The agents exchanged a glance at that, both trying to pull an old memory to surface, but neither of them were very successful in the attempt.

All of a sudden, AJ stiffened, and started to look over her shoulder, but Platyborg shook his head. He'd been sensing people following them from time to time for days now. They didn't seem to ever do anything, and Platyborg didn't want to let them know he knew they were there. If it came down to a fight, he preferred to have them following _him_ then his boys.

She gave one firm nod, to let him know that she trusted him, and got out of the car to examine the area more closely.

Platyborg followed, glancing casually in the rearview mirror as he did, but whoever was following them was good. So good, that not even his scanners were picking them up.

He glanced around, replaying what had happened before in his mind. _If I hadn't made it here in time…_

He shook off that thought, as well as the sick feeling it gave him. Just thinking of Phineas trying to fight off all those robots armed with only a…

_Wait… he lost his knife in the fight._ Platyborg remembered thinking at the time that he had to get his boy out of there, and dismissing the knife from his mind. Now the image of it laying there was clear again, and he wasn't distracted by more important things.

The knife wasn't where he remembered it, and a thorough search of the area revealed that it was gone. _Whoever cleaned up the robots, probably has Phineas's knife too._

Though the mental note might be helpful later, there really wasn't much he could do about it now. He caught AJ's attention, and jerked his head towards the car. She nodded, they got in, and headed for Doofenshmirtz's.

….

**Flynn-Fleatcher's House**

"I just don't know if I can stand having that, that… that _thing _in the house with my children!"

Phineas froze with his hand on the kitchen door, the thought of getting a glass of water all but vanishing. He waited for his mother to continue, but it was his father that spoke next.

"Now, now, Dear, Candace wouldn't be sticking up for him if it wasn't alright."

"Laurence, I know he saved the boys… but, who knows what else he's capable of? What if he hurts them? Even by accident?"

"Well this is Perry we're talking about. You know he'd never hurt the boys on purpose."

"I _did_ know. Or at least _thought_ I knew."

A door opened, and they must have gone outside, because their voices faded.

Phineas bit his lip. If only his mother could spend more time at home; then she'd see that Platyborg wasn't a monster. He shook his head, and went back to the couch were his brother lay. "Well, Ferb, I know what we _would_ have done today."

But there was really no sense in trying to find a way to help their mother accept Platyborg by himself. He just came up with the ideas. It was Ferb who made them work.

His lip quivered. "Please wake up."

"Well, alright."

Phineas gave an excited yelp as he leapt to his feet. "Ferb!"

His brother clutched his head in pain.

Phineas lowered his voice. "Dude, how long have you been listening?"

Ferb blinked. "I just woke up. What happened?"

Phineas sighed. "It's kind of a long story…"

…...

**Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated**

Platyborg tried to stop a yawn, as AJ let out a groan as she slumped into a chair. Doofenshmirtz was nowhere's near as clueless as his 1st dimension counterpart, but he clearly had nothing to do with anything that had happened outside of his building so far.

Now that the nostalgia of playing with Choo-Choo had worn off, the evil x-dictator was starting to look more like his normal self.

Or maybe it was just the glint of satisfaction in his eye when he looked at Platyborg. After all that had happened, this man still had the power to make the platypus feel sick.

AJ tried once more. "So that contraption with the tarp over it in the corner is perfectly innocent?"

"I didn't say that."

Platyborg sighed, marched over to it, and whisked the tarp off while Doofenshmirtz continued. "Actually, I was wondering when you were going to mention that. After all, it's not like you can expect me to just sit up here playing forever. That's a… well, it's a start. I haven't actually added on any evil attachments yet.

"Every time I tried, I kept realizing that I was using a design intended for a certain ungrateful semi- cybernetic egg laying mammal."

He turned his glare towards Platyborg. "That kind of threw a damper in things. You happen to be the most complex thing I ever built, Platyborg, and I hope you appreciate it."

AJ's fists clenched, but they still needed information out of him. "Alright, look; if you're not behind this, then who is? Can you think of any of your evil little friends who could pull this off?"

Doofenshmirtz yawned. "The only evil little friend I ever had was Platyborg, and somehow I doubt he was behind this. It would be great if he was though."

Platyborg rolled his eye. _Sorry. Not gonna happen._

Doofenshmirtz shrugged. "Other than that? Can't help ya."

AJ crossed her arms. "Can't? Or won't?"

"Well I wouldn't if I could normally, but if I can't rule the tri-state-area, I really don't want some other evil dictator ruling things. I kind of prefer my current condition to being eliminated."

AJ glanced at Platyborg, who just shrugged. _He's got a point._

"Well, just keep trying to remember some _enemies_ then. Someone that you might of tried to get rid of because they were to much of a threat. And dismantle that thing while you're thinking."

He sighed. "Fine."

"I mean it, Doofenshmirtz. We'll be back to check on you sometime today, and it'd better be in pieces by then."

He took a step back, holding his hands up in defense. "Alright, alright! Fine."

Platyborg noticed something in his face as he said it, but for once, he wasn't sure how to read it. One thing was for sure, Doofenshmirtz was going to have to be watched a lot more closely from this point on. He probably wouldn't try to build another make-yourself-eviler-inator or anything, but even without that, he was still a threat.

He made sure the evil scientist caught the 'I'm watching you' look, before he motioned for AJ to follow him out.

"If you remember anything before we come back, you know the agency's number."

Doofenshmirtx muttered a semi-positive response, and watched him leave.

Platyborg alone suspected that he wasn't the only person watching them leave. Somewhere, on the roof of some surrounding building, there was a sniper, watching them through his scope.

**To be continued….**

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><p><strong>AN:  
><strong>

**Thanks a bunch for the reviews! :D **

**And as always, thanks for reading!  
><strong>


	12. Hail

**Hail**

As Platyborg climbed into the car, he glanced in the rearview mirror. In it, was the clear reflection of a sniper on a nearby roof top.

Platyborg froze, hurriedly debating what to do. This was the first time he'd seen them. Their first big slip up. Maybe this was the time to act.

_Besides, I can't lead them home to…_ The thought of his boys pushed everything else away. Whoever was behind this was a threat to his family, and he wasn't going to stand for it anymore.

Ignoring AJ's yelp of surprise, he suddenly took off, flying away from the sniper in what he hoped was a confusing maneuver.

He zigged, zagged, and then flew up along that back of the building, meaning to surprise the sniper. But the man wasn't there anymore.

Platybrog barely had time to blink in surprise before an old sack was tugged over his head.

He quickly rolled out of it, and fired his grappling hook around his attacker's legs. The man fell down, reached for a discarded wrench beside him then stared at something over Platyborg's head. He dropped the wrench with a scream, and covered his face.

Platyborg gulped, and turned his head- straight into a robot's fist.

He gave a cough as he was lifted up by his chest plate. The robot's read 'Control-izer'.

As Platyborg tried to wriggle out of it's grasp, he gave an angry chatter. This was one of the same type of robots that attacked Phinias.

As much as he wanted to pulverize it, though, he didn't do anything but glare at it as it picked up the sack, and stuffed him back into it. He set his face grimly, and crossed his fingers.

….

**Flynn-Fletcher House**

Candace had refused to let Ferb go down into Platyborg's lair, so he and Phineas had rigged up a connection to their pet's computer, and were working from the living room.

As they activated the tracker, Phineas frowned. "Wait a second… AJ's car is here, but Platyborg's over here! He's still moving away too. With everything that's going on around here, why would Annie let him go off alone?"

Candace appeared over their shoulders. "I wouldn't worry about it. They probably had to split up."

Phineas pointed. "But AJ's car isn't moving."

Candace looked a bit more concerned. "Well, she might be pinned down by some robots, but then she'd just call Perry for help. More likely she's investigating something. They haven't been gone that long."

Ferb voiced his concern by activating the camera Platyborg was wearing.

They all gave startled gasps as a picture of ripped burlap appeared on the screen. From the way it jostled, it was easy to tell that it was a sack.

At least the way the camera was rising and falling slightly, they had good reason to hope that Platyborg was still breathing.

Phineas gulped. "Okay, now this is starting to look bad. Why would Annie be just sitting there if Perry was in trouble?"

Candace patted his head and Ferb's shoulder. "Aw, you know Platyborg. He probably ran into some trouble and didn't want to put her in danger. Look, if you two can stay here, and out of trouble, then I'll go check it out. Okay?"

Ferb nodded, and Phineas said, "We won't leave. Just… be careful, sis."

Candace nodded, and hurried for the door, sliding her sunglasses on as she left.

Phineas and Ferb waited worriedly keeping her on intercom the whole way.

Nothing looked out of the ordinary, un till she reached Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated.

"Guys, there might be trouble after all. I'm going to turn on the camera you gave me now."

They leaned in towards the screen. As Candace turned the camera on, AJ's car came into view. Both front doors were open, but nothing was touched inside the car, so it seemed safe to assume that something had happened when they were leaving.

Candace stooped down by the driver's side, and winced, careful not to point the camera down. Something had been dragged off. She followed the trail as far as she could, and found AJ's watch. The buckle had broken, making her impossible to track.

Candace paced back and forth. Had AJ been attacked, and Platyborg tried to help, or the other way around? Or was it something different altogether? Only one thing was certain.

They were both gone.

…...

Platyborg didn't know Phineas and Ferb were watching when he was dumped out of the sack in front of a desk. He blinked up angrily to face…

"Hey! That's that guy I saw in the alley!" Phineas exclaimed.

The bald man stood up, and stepped around the desk to tower over the platypus. "Good afternoon, Platyborg. It's a pity we had to meet like this!" He chuckled obnoxiously, then continued. "I, am Aloyse Everheart Elizabeth Otto Wolfgang Hypatia Gunther Galen Gary Cooper von Roddenstein! And I will soon take over!"

Platyborg's eye narrowed. That name was ridiculously long enough to belong to one of the first dimension villains. The fact he was trying to take over was a tip off too.

He stood up to tackle the man, but the entire room was full of '-izers' and he was quickly restrained. All he could do was glare angrily, and hope that AJ and the boys would follow his signal.

….

**Unknown Location**

AJ groaned, and tried to look around. She was in a typical dungeon. Water dripping, somewhere, rats scurrying around everywhere. A tall, sinister figured standing in the cover of the shadows…

She sighed, and rubbed her head. The last thing she remembered, was trying to get into the car to follow Platyborg. Something sharp had hit her leg, and she'd gone down hard. Then something had hit her over the head.

She glanced down at the cloth around her wound, and hoped it was clean, then turned her attention back to the guy in the corner.

His voice made it impossible to tell if he smiling or not, and she sure couldn't see his face. "Hello, AJ."

She sighed. "I'm afraid you have the advantage."

He laughed. "In more ways than one, my dear!"

There was a burst of static, and then a voice came in over the intercom. "Boss? We've got a problem. That Roddenstien idiot just captured the robotic platypus."

AJ couldn't hold back a gasp. Her surroundings dimmed, and she forgot all about the pain in her leg, all her energy was used up being worried sick about Perry, even as the agent in her figured out that with Platyborg and her out of the way, these guys were that much closer to taking over the tri-state area.

The man in the dark answered. "I'll take care of it. In the meantime, double the security down here. We wouldn't want out little guest to get out, now would we?"

AJ tried to make out some recognizable feature as he strode out, but all she could get was the air of confidence that hung around this man like a cloak. Somehow, that scared her even more.

…..

By five o'clock, all the television's were playing the same thing. One clear-cut, overlong message.

'All hail Aloyse Everheart Elizabeth Otto Wolfgang Hypatia Gunther Galen Gary Cooper von Roddenstein.'

**To be continued….**

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Thanks for reading!**

**And thanks again to everyone who's reviewed! You guy's are epically awesome!  
><strong>


	13. Ferbulence

**Ferbulence **

Platyborg sighed in his cell, unaware thatsomewhere else, AJ was in one as well. He figured that she was out looking for him, with Candace, or another member of the resistance. He could only hope that Phineas and Ferb were safe back at home. Maybe even the girls would have the sense to stay at home. He knew they could all keep each other safe, even without him.

He wondered wistfully if he'd ever see any of them again. This Rodney guy had sure made things miserable. He could only imagine the panic that the city must be going through right now….

…

Most people were either trying to get to shelter, or stalking up on as many supplies as they could get. The rest of them simply rushed home to their families.

The door behind Linda and Lawrence Flynn-Fletcher firmly shut the chaos out. For the time being.

Linda's relief that the family pet wasn't there was quickly replaced with delight that Ferb was awake, which was mixed fear as she learned that her daughter was out there, looking for both Platyborg and AJ.

Not wanting to frighten their parents, the boys had put away their computer. Platyborg's signal had stopped right before Candace left anyway, and nothing they did would get it back, so he could only assume the trouble was from their pet's camera.

Phineas felt his chest tighten, as he told himself they wouldn't be out there at all if it hadn't been for him.

Ferb blinked once, and Phineas sighed. "You're right, Ferb, they would have gone to check on Doofenshmirtz anyway. But, I still can't help but feel there's something big going on out there…

….

**Unknown Location**

AJ let out a gasp as her jailer pulled her bonds too tight.

From the shadows in the doorway, the man who's face she had yet to see watched smugly. "You haven't a clue what's going on here, do you? You probably think I'm using you for bait."

She tilted her head. "Aren't you?"

He felt a smile spread slowly. "If I was, who would I be trying to bait?"

She sounded tired. "If you think you're going to get information out of me…"

"The platypus, yes. And who else? Come now. There's no need to be stubborn. I'm sure that leg isn't getting any better on its own. Don't you think your partner would want you to be, comfortable?"

This one wasn't going to crack. He could tell that. He _might_ learn something if he were to use the platypus against her. But then, he wasn't ready to risk that yet. Those two were too dangerous when together, and he fully intended to keep them as far apart as possible.

"You're wrong. I'm not using you as bait. You see, that would mean that I wanted them to come and find you. I don't intend for anyone to find you. You think that this is about the tri-state area? Well it's not. It's about so much more than that. You can't possibly imagine what you're about to be apart of."

Her shoulders tensed at that. Perhaps she was still thinking of her little cybernetic pet. Let her. With that, he turned and left one final instruction for the guard. "Do try and keep her as _uncomfortable_ as you possibly can, but don't harm her too badly. We may need her alive."

….

**Somewhere in Danville**

Candace tried AJ's watch one more time, and was finally rewarded with bit of background noise mixed in with the burst of static. "Platyborg?"

There was a pause, then a quiet chatter answered her. Slowly, the video filled in.

She couldn't help but see how tired he looked. "Where are you two? Is AJ with you? Can she talk?"

Platyborg's face went from confused to alarmed, and Candace's heart sank. "You didn't even know she was missing did you?"

She didn't even wait for the answer. Instead, she tried to cheer him up as much as she could. "Listen, Perry, just hang in there. Ferb's awake, and fine."

She wasn't sure, but she thought she heard a sigh of relief from the other end. He certainly looked more relaxed.

"He and Phineas are holding down the fort back home, and AJ's probably just out there looking for you, same as me. We're _not_ just leaving you there, but we'll all be careful, so you don't have a thing to worry about."

"If you get a chance to get out of there, take it, but otherwise, sit tight. You remember that camera the boys gave you?"

He nodded, looking more like his old self.

"Good. It's stopped sending out a signal. See if you can fix it."

She wasn't sure if she was being clear enough, but she thought she was doing pretty good for a girl talking on an intercom to a platypus.

"Keep your chin up. You'll be back out protecting the city again in no time."

Platyborg nodded, and returned her salute.

Candace hated cutting off that connection, but she knew they'd risked being found out already. At least she'd been able to give him back some hope.

But if AJ wasn't with Perry, then where was she?

**To be continued...**

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><p><strong>AN: My update's almost as short as it is late, and boring to boot. Sorry about that, and thanks all the more for reading it! : ) **


	14. Clearer Skies

**Clearer Skies  
><strong>

Candace paced the floor of her room, wondering what her next move should be. She had searched until it was too dark to see, but to no avail. The boys weren't having much more luck with the camera, so Platyborg probably hadn't fixed it yet.

She sighed. The signal had been weak where she was, but it was even weaker at the house. The boys had been disappointed that they couldn't speak to their pet.

All of a sudden, she heard her parents coming up the hall.

"It's just so good to have Ferb up and about again."

Her mother's voice answered, getting fainter as they went to their room. "Yes, it is. I just wish the whole family was together again."

Funny that she was so worried about Perry now…

Candace knew she shouldn't, but she quietly crept to her parents door to listen.

"Well, I'm sure they'll be alright, dear."

"They?"

Lawrence probably shrugged. "Why, AJ and Perry of course!"

"Oh, right."

"Linda, don't be like that."

Candace frowned more than usual. How could her mother think that Annie was more part of the family than Platyborg was?

"It's happening all over again! Some crazy evil scientist is demanding that we serve him. What if… what if he's worse than Doofenshmirtz?"

"Well, that was a rather abrupt topic change…"

Her mother sighed. "No it isn't! This… Roddenstien man, has captured it, and now it's only a matter of time before…"

Candace took a deep breath, and pushed the door open. "It's alright."

Her parents looked at her in shock, but she continued. "Mom, Perry only submitted before to keep us safe. He'd do _anything_ to protect us. We're his _family_. I think Phineas heard you talking about him earlier, and it really upset him."

Linda sighed. "It's just hard for me to accept having… Perry, here, after what happened."

Candace hugged her mother. "I know. But Platyborg's not a threat. That's why we have to get him out of there… because he'd never give up on any of us."

"I just want you to be safe! We should leave, while we still can!"

Candace shook her head. "If we all try to leave, then we'll be stopped. Even if we got our family out, what about everyone else? Someone has to fight for them."

A loud noise from downstairs cut off anything else she might have said. She told her parents, "It's probably just the boys. I'll go check it out. You two should rest."

Downstairs, she found that the boys had reconstructed another portal opening.

Phineas was beaming for the first time since he and Ferb had gotten into trouble. "Look Candace! Ferb and I figured that since Annie and Perry are missing, the best people to find them, are Annie and Perry!"

Candace held back a smirk. "You know, if we weren't standing in front of an inter dimensional portal, that wouldn't make a whole lot of sense.

"But you're right. It's defiantly worth a shot. If they say no, then we're no worse off than before. I'll go, and you two had better stay here and see if Platyborg fixes his camera."

Both brothers looked a little disappointed, but they didn't argue. "Alright, sis. We've rigged it up, so that you'll be taken straight to Annie's signal. Good luck!"

Candace took the remote he handed her, smiled her thanks, and stepped through the portal.

….

**1****st**** Dimension**

Candace was fully expecting to find Annie sitting comfortably on her couch, sipping tea. The sounds of gunfire took her by surprise.

"Candace!"

Something knocked her to the ground, and out of a stray bullets path, the proceeded to scold her. "What are you doing here? Oh, it's you."

She blinked off her surprise as she tried to gain the advantage on her opponent. "Sorry about the greeting, but this isn't really the best time."

Candace settled in behind her, pulling out a laser pistol of her own. "I guess I should have called first. What's going on?"

"Another one of Doofenshmirtz's inventions got away from him. It started going crazy, and trying to shoot him."

Sure enough, a strange robot was running around the room, firing randomly at everything in sight.

"Wait, why are you here then?"

Annie shrugged, and fired again. "He managed to get a call in to the OWCA. Of course Monogram sent Perry, and, by default, me."

Candace looked around. "So, where's Perry?"

As if on cue, the platypus launched himself out of nowhere, and landed on the robot's back. He only stayed long enough to press the self destruct button, then flipped back to stand in front of Doofenshmirtz with his arms crossed.

Annie grinned. "Great job!"

Perry turned, and blinked as he saw Candace.

Knowing that they needed to hurry, she told them, "Look, you're alternate selves are missing in my dimension, and I need you're help to…" She trailed off as Perry looked pointedly to Doofenshmirtz.

"Alternate selves? Perry the platypus, why didn't you tell me that you had an alternate self? And who is this anyway."

Annie sighed. "I don't suppose you'd accept the fact that this is all a bad dream, caused by guilt for trying to get a head start on your daily fight with Perry?"

Doof frowned. "What kind of a Dumkoff do you think I am? Hey, can I come too? I can tell you about my -inator on the way!"

Annie scoffed. "That sounds more like a threat to me."

Candace motioned Perry over, and whispered, "Sorry about that, but maybe we can use it to our advantage. Let's bring him along, and then we can erase his memories. I'll explain how later."

Perry jerked his thumb towards Doof, then pointed to his head, and and whirled his finger while crossing his eyes.

Candace frowned. "You feeling okay?"

Annie chuckled. "He's asking if it will make Doof even crazier than he is now."

Candace shrugged. "Didn't ours."

Doof crossed his arms. "You know, I'm standing right here? Will what, exactly, make me crazier? And what do you mean by crazier? I take offence to that, Perry the platypus!"

Candace ignored him. "Does that mean you'll come?"

Perry nodded.

Annie smiled. "That means I'm in, too."

Candace stood up. "Great. If you three will just step this way, I think the portals still opened over here."

But Perry pointed to Annie and shook his head. He gestured off towards his home, and gave a punctuated chatter.

She bit her lip. "I know. But…" The look on his face was clear to everyone in the room; he wanted her to stay and do something. Only Candace and Annie knew that that something was protecting his family. Annie nodded. "Be careful in there."

Candace could understand all too well why she was worried. "Here, take the portal remote. That way, you can join us later if we need you."

Annie nodded, and watched as the other three stepped through the portal without her. Perry paused at the last second, and went back to Annie.

She stooped down for a hug, pictures of his 2nd dimension counterpart flashing through her head. "I'll take good care of them, but you'd better come back in one piece, you hear me?"

He nodded, and pulled back, giving her a reassuring smile.

"I know you've got to do this, but promise me you'll find some way to let me know if you need help."

He nodded. _I'll do my best. You just do your part. And if I'm gone for a couple of days…_

"I'll try to keep the boys from worrying."

He smiled at the way she could always guess what he was thinking, and then stepped through the portal with a farewell salute.

**To be continued…**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, it looks like Perry's back in the 2****nd**** dimension. This should prove to be interesting! At least my update was a little faster this time. And longer… go figure!**

**Thanks for sticking with me guys!**

**And thanks to any new readers that might chance along as well!**


	15. A Dark, Stormy Night

**A Dark, Stormy Night**

As Perry stepped through the portal, he was immediately grabbed by Phineas. "You came! Wait… why'd you bring _him_, instead of…"

Candace waved it off. "No time for that now. Did you two get that camera working?"

Ferb nodded, and Phineas translated, setting the secret agent back down. "We've got him on there now. See? Perry fixed it at his end, and put it up on the wall so we could talk to him, instead of just surveillance him…"

Candace stopped him there. "Good. We'll need it. And to avoid confusion, _this_ is Perry, and our Perry is Platyborg."

Phineas frowned. "I don't think that's fair."

Platyborg smirked, and gestured to his body. _Ignoring it isn't going to make it go away, Phin. Platyborg still fits._

Phineas seemed to pick up on some of it. "You don't mind then?"

Platyborg shook his head, and chattered to Perry. _Thanks for coming. _

Perry shrugged, and chattered back. _Any idea where you are?_

Platyborg's bill twitched into a grim smile. _I think so. But that's not important right not. AJ's missing too, and she should have checked in by now. Something's wrong. You need to find her first._

Perry could understand that logic, but he wasn't convinced. _I may have been here before, but I don't know this city like you do. We need to get you out, so that you can help us find AJ._

As the rest of them tried to figure out what the platypi were saying, Doofenshmirtz wandered over to the window. Through it, he could make out his building in the distance. "Hmm, I wonder what my evil counterpart is up to?"

Nobody heard him as he wandered out the door.

Perry gave one last chatter, then turned and walked into the other room. He came back with a map, and pointed to a spot in the city.

Candace peered over his shoulder. "That's where Platyborg is?"

Both of them chattered an affirmative.

"Good. Any idea how to get him out of there?"

Perry rubbed his bill. _Well this is going to be difficult without Annie. Maybe…_

But when he turned to see if Doofenshmirtz had any idea where he was going with this, the 'evil' scientist had vanished…

…..

**Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated**

Doof walked in, and stared.

Doofenshmirtz looked up. "What?"

Doof scratched the back of his neck. "Do I know you?"

Doofenshmirt sighed. "Yeah. I'm you from another dimension. Do you not remember, or do I need to put a hat on or something?"

"I have no idea where a hat would fit this situation… but that must be it. I just had this strange feeling that we'd, you know, met before, or something. Oh well. Whatch doin'?"

His counterpart rolled his eye. "You know, after you lost your train, you technically should have been turned as evil as I was."

Doof blinked. "Again, no idea how that applies. Train? Train… you mean the one I had stored away but couldn't find?"

Alt. Doofensmirtz grinned. "Exactly. How did that make you feel?"

Doof shrugged. "Eh."

"Eh?"

"Yeah. Eh."

Alt Doof scratched his head. "How could that have avoided affecting you?"

Doof gave another shrug. "I don't know. For a second I was all like, 'Hey, didn't I use to have a train?' but then I got the feeling that I'd given it away to someone who needed it more, so I wall all like, 'Eh.'."

Alt. Doof slapped himself. "Oh sure! I get anguished turmoil, and you get closure! Well, maybe you've made progress anyway. Have you captured your nemesis yet? More than just trapped him I mean."

Doof thought for a second, then his face lit up. "Yes, yes I did!"

"Excellent! And what did you do to him?"

Doof crossed his arms, and stuck his chin out proudly. "I turned him into my butler!"

"Aha! And… wait… did you say, butler?"

Doof nodded. "Yep! I built this inator, that made him think he was my butler! Pretty evil, huh?"

"It just made him _think_ he was your butler? You didn't do anything physically harmful to him?"

"Well, no. Actually, he figured out a way to remind himself who he really was… But you're not one to talk! _You're _nemesis has been captured by a different villain!" All of a sudden, that didn't seem like the right thing to say.

His alternate self scowled darkly as he backed him up against a wall. "_What_ did you just say?"

…...

After Candace and Perry left, Phineas and Ferb turned back to the computer screen. "Don't worry, boy. They'll have you out of there in no time, and Perry will take as good care of us as he does of his own kids."

Platyborg's bill tipped up into a slight smile at that. _Well, almost as good, Phineas._

He had no doubt that Perry would do everything he could to keep them safe- he was a secret agent after all- but when it came down to it, Perry's family was safe back in their dimension. This was _his_ family, and he didn't even trust his dimensional counterpart with their safety.

Ferb frowned sympathetically.

Phineas picked up on their pet's worry too. "I know it's hard for you to just sit there, but…"

Platyborg waved his hands frantically, cutting them off as he stepped back from the camera. The boys froze as they heard someone walking by the cell.

It was Rodney, and a shorter person trying to keep up. "I just don't understand it, Diminutive. They should be either rushing to surrender, or quaking in fear. Why are they putting up a fight?"

"Because…"

The taller one sighed. "I wasn't actually asking for your opinion… hmm. I wonder what Doofenshmirtz will say when he gets here?"

He paused at Platyborg's cell, and smiled cruelly. "That's right. You two are going to be cellmates soon. What do you think about that, huh?"

Platyborg gave an angry chatter as he turned back, only to give a startled gasp.

Platyborg blinked wondering why he'd gone so white. He wasn't in the dark for long though, as Doofensmirtz himself advanced into sight, making the other two shrink back. He pointed a gloved finger at the cell. "_That_ happens to be _my_ nemesis, Roddenstien."

The evil dictator wanna-be took another step back, tripping over Dr. Diminutive. "Now Doofenshmirtz… temper, temper! I never meant any harm…" Doofenshmirtz's glare was enough to make him turn and flee.

Doofenshmirtz's fists clenched, and unclenched while he worked his jaw, then he turned towards the cell.

Struck by a nauseating sense of de`ja` vu, Platyborg flinched under his nemesis's angry glare.

_Not again. Not in front of the boys! Please!_

Doofenshmirtz pounded a button in the wall, making the cell bars swing aside. "Did he hurt you?"

… _What?_

Doofenshmirtz tapped his foot. "Well? All I need is a simple yes or no."

Platyborg tested his bonds for the hundredth time as he shook his head tentatively.

Doofenshmirtz shifted his weight uncomfortably, then muttered under his breath. "This is _way_ awkward." Louder he added. "Don't get any ideas about our becoming palsy or anything, cause this is a one time deal."

At that, the man pulled a gun, and fired twice.

When Platyborg blinked his eye back open, all he could do was stare in shock at the remains of the chains that had held him.

He stood up, and turned his questioning gaze to the former dictator, who was shoving the blaster back into his pocket. "Don't you look at me like that! Remember how I said I made a mistake taking you apart? Well, consider this my formal apology, and leave it at that! Besides, I need you something. You see, Roddenstien isn't the one who's really about to take control."

Platyborg's face hardened as he clenched his fists, but Doofenshmirtz just rolled his eye. "Not _me_! You really think I'd come to you for that? Give me a break!"

He sauntered out, leaving Platyborg little choice but to follow him warily after grabbing his camera from the wall.

As they made their way past several unconscious guards, Doofenshmirtz told him what he knew.

They'd only scratched the surface of the _real _mastermind's plot.

**To be continued…**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks again for the reviews, guys! **

**And again, if you see any spelling/grammar errors, or anyone acting out of character without reason, or really anywhere the plot could use some improvement, I'd really appreciate it if you could let me know! Thanks!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	16. A Break in the Storm

**A Break in the Storm (themed titles) **

The boys gave a gasp of dismay as Platyborg took the camera off the wall, switching it off.

"No, no, no! Perry! He's not going with Doofenshmirtz is he? Tell me he is not going with Doofenshmirtz!"

He shook Ferb, who replied, "Perhaps he just doesn't want us to see what he's doing to Doofenshmirtz."

Phineas gave a sigh of relief. "Right. Good point. Still, we'd better tell Candace… she's still got AJ's watch right?"

At Ferb's nod, he pressed a button. "Good. The O.W.C.A.'s communicators are the most secure in the city."

Candace's face appeared. "Not now! We've found one Doofenshmirtz, but our former dictator has left his apartment."

Phineas nodded. "Yeah, he just broke Perry… I mean, Platyborg, out of jail."

"What! Why would he do that?"

Behind her, Doof scoffed. "Well, duh! Perry the Platyborg is his nemesis! It totally goes against the code of all evil scientists everywhere for one to capture someone else's nemesis. It's rude, and if you let them get away with it, it means that they're better than you."

Candace let that sink in. "So, where's Platyborg?"

**Back at Roddenstien's**

As Doofenshmirtz and Platyborg made it to the upper levels of Rodney's hideout, the man summed up what he'd been telling him. "…So, yeah, you can see how Roddenstein's only the tip of the iceberg."

Platyborg crossed his arms and chattered.

Doofenshmirtz held his hands up. "Hey, believe me or don't. I just don't want this guy to succeed any more than you do. But whether or not you chose to believe me, let's just keep one thing clear. You're _my_ nemesis. Got that?"

_Which would be the real reason you got me out of there, huh._

Doofenshmirtz actually squirmed, reminding Platyborg of his pre-dictator days. "So… maybe that might have factored into my decision to save you… but that's beside the point! Are we still nemesis's or not?"

Platyborg scowled. _Oh we're nemeses alright! In every sense of the word._

"Well, good. But now what?"

Platyborg pointed back to his building.

"Oh no! I am not going back there while this creep is still running around. Besides, you're little partner's still missing, am I'm willing to bet that you'd rather find her than lock me up. I may be able to help you find her. As your nemesis, you have my word that I'll lay off my own evildoing until this is resolved."

Platyborg frowned. _Annie'd be screaming at me to get out of here._ _We promised each other that we wouldn't face Doofenshmirtz alone._

But then, they hadn't known that this was going to happen. No, Annie wouldn't like this, but if their positions were reversed, if he was the one an evil maniac had tied up somewhere and she had to take a chance with Doofenshmirtz, he knew full well that she'd do it.

Mostly because he was about to. He reached a hand out to Doofenshmirtz, and barely even flinched when the man shook it.

"Well we've certainly made a lot of progress, huh? While we're at it… how about you let me make some modifications?"

Platyborg tightened his grip with a chatter that bordered on ferocity.

Doofenshmirtz yanked his hand back to rub it. "Ow! Alright, I get it!"

Platyborg turned and waited for Doofenshmirtz to take the lead.

_Well, not exactly the _lead_, but there's not way I'm letting him walk behind me._

**Unknown Location**

It was dark.

The air was thick, musty, and hard to breath in.

The chains around her wrists were too tight.

Her leg _hurt_.

While AJ teetered back and forth on the edge of consciousness, she variably worried that Perry wouldn't save her, or that he'd try.

Her worst fear was that he and the kids would get captured trying to rescue her. Or be captured/ injured in any other way.

The Flynn-Fletchers were like family to her. They were so much more than just a job.

Job.

Focus.

This guy… the one that always hid in the shadows… taunting her with hints of threats, he was up to something huge. While he was free, no one was safe.

If only she had her watch. Or at least some way to try to free herself…

Too bad mechanics where more her thing…

As she tried once again to focus, the shadowed figure reappeared in the doorway. "I have an update on your platypus."

**To be continued…**

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

** The next chapter should have at least some action in it, and hopefully it wont take me forever to write it. Believe it or not, I actually have some idea of a plot, so I'm gradually building towards that. Hope you like it so far!**

**Thanks for reading! **


	17. Unlikely Partners

**Unlikely Teams**

Perry plodded along between Doof and Candace. _If he keeps on rambling, she's going to whack him with that stick._

Come to think of it, Perry wasn't that far from grabbing the stick and whacking his nemesis with it himself. He took a deep breath, and distracted himself by worrying about his counterpart. _Why on earth would he go with his Doofenshmirtz? And why hasn't he checked in by now, unless…_ Perry winced at the thought of the evil scientist overpowering him. After all, he'd done it before.

A beep from his wrist snatched his attention back to the present. He answered his watch. _But who's calling?_

To his surprise, it was the other Phineas. "Hi, 1st dimension Perry! Sorry to tap your signal, but we're working on a way to communicate with your dimension, and we thought you'd like to know. If we get it right, you should be able to call your AJ, and check in."

Perry chattered his thanks. _Wow, they're almost as fast as my boys._ Not that he was _too_ worried about them yet. He trusted Annie, and, after all, Doof was right here with him.

He shot him an irritated glance as he realized he was still whining about a 'foot-massage-inator'.

_We've only been walking for a few minutes!_

Above his head, there was a 'swish', followed by a 'thwack!'

"Ow!"

"Would you be quiet!"

Perry smirked, risking an upward glance. Doof's lip protruded in a pout, and he was rubbing the back of his head. Candace still had her fists clenched.

Only Perry snapped into action fast enough when a shot was fired.

He leapt up, grabbing Candace and Doof by the arms, and pulled them down to a crouch as the laser bolt sailed over their heads.

Candace was immediately up again, running for cover; preferably somewhere she could fight back from.

Perry pulled Doof along after her. As they slid in behind the dumpster, Doof complained, "Now _this_ is what the other me was talking about! You let a guy steel your nemesis, and you lose your authority! What are we going to do now?"

Perry motioned for the two of them to stay down, then scampered off. He didn't have any sleeves, but he always had a trick or two up in his hat…

…..

**Not Far From Roddenstien's**

Platyborg stared at Doofenshmirtz back as they trudged along silently. Platyborg found himself trying to guess what was going on in that evil mind.

He didn't have a clue.

They'd come so far from the days where Perry'd thought he knew Doofenshmirtz. That was a different platypus. Oh, unlike his counterpart, he'd never doubted that _his_ was capable of hurting him, and enjoying it. This Doofenshmirtz was just more evil on every level. But he'd never thought he'd actually take over.

He hadn't thought he'd actually succeed at any of his goals… not until it was too late.

Doofenshmirtz finally broke the silence after glancing behind him. "So you are still there. Whatever the OWCA did to upgrade you sure is quiet, I'll give 'em that. Not that I couldn't have done better… I just preferred being able to hear you when you were coming. Plus I knew you hated it." He gave an almost wistful sigh. "Good times."

A chilling sense of familiarity surged through the cybernetic platypus, as the attempt at conversation sparked memories. _Wait… it almost sounds like…_

But could Doofenshmirtz possibly _miss_ him? Platyborg scoffed at the idea. _Miss taking me apart; maybe. _

His sensors picked up on a laser being fired, just in time for him to duck.

Doofenshmirtz gave yelp of surprise, and dove to his knees as his former general took to the skies.

Platyborg's jaw dropped.

The city was overrun with Rodney's Control -Izers. _But, how…?_

He quickly swooped back down to Doofenshmirtz, pulled him to his feet, and over to some cover. The man's only thanks was a gruff. "Well, I guess we're even again."

_Even?_ Platyborg took back off before he could break that pointed nose. _As if I ever owed __him__ anything!_ He tried to push his flare of anger aside in order to take out the Control-Izers in the immediate vicinity, but it interfered with his aim nonetheless.

It didn't really seem to matter. The more he shot down, the more appeared to take their place. It was like the Norm-bots all over again.

His heart started beating faster. _How many are there? What if… the boys! Candace!_ He didn't care how many of them there were. He wasn't beat yet. Not by a long shot.

…...

**Back with the others**

Perry shot the last bit of cheese spray in a robots face, then tossed the empty can aside. It had done the trick on half a dozen robots. _Too bad I don't have more…_

He glanced down to make sure Candace was holding her own while he fished through his hat again. His heart sank as he realized he'd used up pretty much everything.

"Perry the platypus! Catch!"

He turned as Doof tossed him a laser from his lab coat, presumably one from the fight in his lab.

Perry put his hat back on, tipping the brim in gratitude, then started shooting down the robots.

Candace gave a startled yelp as one grabbed her feet, pulling her upside down.

Perry was there in a second, but he couldn't get a good shot. Instead, he climbed to its back, and slid open the control panel.

It moved threateningly. "Hurry, Perry!"

He quickly fired into the panel, and hurried to Candace as it dropped her. She brushed herself off. "Thanks." He gave a quick nod, then fired at another robot. _There are so many… I've got to get them out of here!_

He chattered to Candace, then jerked his thumb towards Doof, who was still cowering behind the dumpster.

She looked around and seemed to understand him well enough. "You're right. We should get back to the boys."

He covered her as she dashed back to the dumpster, then scurried there himself. He motioned for the humans to get in.

Candace quickly climbed in, and helped Doof up. "What? You want us to go in _there_? What are you thinking, Perry the platypus? Who's the crazy one now?"

Perry took a few steps back, than rammed up against the dumpster. It took a few heaves, but he got it rolling. Candace peered out over, and reached her rod down to him. "Grab hold!"

He did, and when she pulled him inside, he gave a grateful chatter.

"Glad to have you on the team, soldier."

As they bumped and rolled down the hill, laser darts pinging off the side it was easy to remember that they weren't out of the fight yet.

All of a sudden, they came to a jarring halt. Doof grabbed Perry around the neck, and held him like a teddy bear. The trio held their breaths, waiting….

**To be continued….**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry, I really stink at action scenes. : ( I'll try to do better next time.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	18. Trapped

**Trapped**

The sounds of footsteps reverberated through the dumpster as whatever had stopped them moved around to the opening.

Perry pulled at Doof's arm as he squeezed tighter.

Whatever was out there was much heavier than the robots they had been fighting. Instead of looking into the dumpster, it gave it a sound kick, flipping it over.

Doof hugged Perry even tighter as they rolled with the trash bin. They fell to the roof of it. Then there was a deafening crunch as their attacker punched the bottom in, driving the dumpster into the ground.

Perry's alarm turned to panic as he realized that the thing wasn't going to fight them…

It had just sealed them in.

….

**Flynn-Fletcher House**

When the alarms started sounding, Phineas and Ferb hurried down to Perry's lair, easily one of the safest places in Danville.

They turned on the surveillance cameras, and pressed a button to seal all the entrances.

"C'mon, Ferb, lets see what's going on."

As they turned on the screen, they could see the Control-Izers taking over. Ferb started pushing buttons, bringing up different sections of town, scanning for something.

Phineas caught on a second later. "Hey, where's Perry, Candace, Doofenshmirtz, Doof, and Perry?"

**Across Town**

Platyborg and Doofenshmirtz had taken cover in the old abandoned Old Abandoned Warehouse.

"Well _there's_ an enterprising name! Old Abandoned Warehouse? Who names a warehouse that? No, no… don't answer until you're sure you've gotten rid of all those robots."

Platyborg let out an angry chatter to let him know that he didn't have any right to give orders, then flew to a different window.

Unarmed, and pretty useless for the moment, Doofenshmirtz wandered over to a stack of crates, and started opening them.

Platyborg shot an anxious glance over his shoulder, but he didn't have time to worry what the evil scientist was up to now. He just hoped he was making some kind of weapon so that he could help.

"What is that?"

Platyborg continued to ignore him until he heard the sound of escaping gas. He turned again, this time finding the room filling with a green cloud.

Doofenshmirtz lay by the crates, unconscious.

Platyborg took a slow, determined step, then slumped to the ground…

**Unknown Location**

AJ's dream faded as she felt herself waking up. She tried desperately to fall back to sleep, but it was no use. The throbbing in her leg couldn't be ignored. She sighed in resignation, and waited for the last wisps of her dream cloud to disappear. When they didn't, she opened her eyes, and looked around in shock.

Maybe she hadn't stopped dreaming after all.

What else could explain the absence of her shackles, and cell? She lay on a plush bed, in a well furnished room.

She slipped the covers aside. She was still dressed in the same things she'd been wearing when she was captured. A new, clean bandage was now wrapped around her leg. She carefully got to her feet, and looked around. It was all too real to be a dream, and yet, too strange to be happening.

As she limped to the window, the door behind her opened. "Feeling better?"

She turned at the accented voice. "Who are you?"

He offered what could have been considered a charming smile. "My name is Rodger, ma'am, Rodger Doofenshmirtz."

She tried to ignore the throbbing in her leg. "Any relation to our former dictator?" He hadn't taken control again, had he?

"Yes, actually, yes I am. I'm his younger brother."

She frowned. "You're not the guy who I've been talking to."

"No. He's busy elsewhere."

She limped over to the bureau, and leaned against it. "So why are you here?"

He smiled, and stepped back in order to wheel in a cart. "Obeying orders."

She didn't even glance at the silver dish on top. "Then… why am _I_ here."

He set a cup down on the table by the window, and poured something into it. "He's taken an interest in you. You're really very lucky. He assures us that this will make history."

"Us?"

He set the tray down and lifted the lid, letting the delicious aroma waft out.

Despite her best efforts her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten in days.

He wheeled the cart to the door, and gave a bow. "Please, don't worry about things. All your questions will be answered in time. For now, just relax."

He closed the door, and even the firm click that followed wasn't enough to keep her from limping across the room to try and open it.

Locked, of course.

She turned to study the room again, from the thick, lush carpet to the intricately carved ceiling. "Where am I?"

She glanced down at her wrists, bruised and raw from her shackles. Nothing that had happened since she opened her eyes made any sense.

She took a deep breath, and began the painful trek over to the table. She pulled back the shade, and gave a startled gasp; behind the glass, there was a brick wall.

Not exactly what she was expecting to see.

As she examined it further, she saw that the 'sunlight' was actually coming from lights along the edges of the window.

Wary of trickery, she picked up the spoon from the table setting, and drove the handle into the window with as much force as she could muster. After a few well placed hits, the pane shattered.

She carefully moved the broken glass out of the way with the spoon, and reached beyond the pane. It was a real brick wall.

She didn't know why she had expected otherwise, but she slumped into on of the chairs with a frustrated sigh.

The curtain fell back into place, restoring the illusion of sunlight peeping into the room from it.

She was still a prisoner, but this cell was unlike any she had ever seen.

…

Rodger whistled contentedly as he opened the last door in the hall, and walked in. He quietly set out a plate of food, then set a bowl on the floor.

He quietly exited, never bothering to get a good look at the sleeping inhabitants of the room; a one eyed man, and a cybernetic platypus.

**Inside the Dumpster**

"Once more!"

At Candace's command, all three of them launched against the side of the dumpster, and pushed as hard as they could.

It didn't budge.

First Doof, then Candace, then finally Perry slumped to the floor in defeat.

Doof sighed. "Well, this is it. We're going to run out of air soon. At least we'll be together… unless of course you've got some way out this, Perry the platypus."

Perry answered with a depressed chatter, since they couldn't see his shrug in the darkness.

Doof rustled around beside him, probably trying to get comfortable. "Its not exactly how I ever imagined going, you know? Trapped in a overturned dumpster from another dimension, with my nemesis, and some cranky local girl."

Candace groaned. "There _has_ to be some way out of this. Perry, are you sure this thing is interfering with your watch signal?"

Perry gave a dry chatter.

_If it was working, I'd be calling for help._

She tried again. "Doof, can you think of any way to boost the signal? Or maybe even bore through the side of this thing?"

"I can think of several, but I didn't exactly bring my tools, let alone supplies."

"What if there's something here you could use?"

He answered. "I don't know. I can't even see anything. How am I supposed to work on anything?"

"Right. Lets fix that problem first."

Perry pressed a button on his watch.

"Good thinking, soldier! I'll use AJ's watch. They don't give of much light, but maybe we can find something."

Clutching to the new ray of hope, they began rooting through the garbage that they were sitting in, in hope of finding something useful.

Preferably before their air supply ran out.

**To be continued…**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This chapter didn't come together like I'd originally planned, and there are still a few things I'm not sure I like, but there it is!  
><strong>

**Thanks for reading!**


	19. The Resistance Returns to Resist Again

**The Resistance Returns to Resist Again**

Platyborg gave a happy sigh as he snuggled into his pet bed. His instincts were nagging him to look around the room, but he pushed them aside. Everything was probably fine.

"Perry the platyborg, **Wake up!**" As Doofenshmirtz voice screeched the rude awakening, Platyborg leapt to his feet in a defensive stance, then all of the events of the past couple of days hit him full force...

Nothing was fine.

He gaped around the room _Where are we? What's with all the fancy stuff?_

"Would you stop pointing that blaster at me?"

Platyborg blinked down, and saw that his arm was still in defense mode, and he was indeed pointing it at the evil scientist. He lowered it with a shrug. _It was a reflex._

Doofenshmirtz didn't comment. Instead, he gestured to the room. "Yeah, I don't get it either. I feel like we're in one of those ritzy, foreign hotels. They left food out."

Platyborg stared at him as he walked over to the table. Doofenshmirtz scoffed. "Of course I'm not going to _eat_ it! Are you forgetting that I'm evil myself?"

_Never._

"Anyway, I just wanted to show you this window. Pretty weird, huh? Who puts a window over bricks?"

He jumped back with a yelp as a laser blast fired past him, into the window. It shattered the glass, but when it hit the 'bricks' it was reflected back.

Doofenshmirtz and Platyborg both dropped to the thick carpet at the bolt bounced across the room. From the way it was being deflected by the walls, they were made of the same material at the bricks. Finally, it fizzled into nothingness.

As they both got to their feet, Alt. Doof glared at Platyborg. "It might be best, if you never did that again!"

Platyborg shrugged sheepishly.

Alt. Doof stared at the walls. "It didn't even scratch them. Whatever they're made of, you probably don't have anything that will break through them. I mean, this guy isn't an idiot."

Platyborg crossed his arms. _Go on. Do you know where we are, or who's behind this?_

"Oh I don't have any idea where we are. I'm just assuming that there's only a handful of guys this powerful." He leaned against the wall behind him, and sighed. "Well, I'm bored. And, as nice as this place is, there doesn't appear to be a television, or anything else, really… Are you sure I can't do some modifications, Platyborg?"

The platypus glared at him and took a step back.

Alt Doof sighed. "Fine. But it could help us."

_Not going to happen, so give it up, Doofenshmirtz._

The man scowled. "I don't like your tone."

_I can't even talk!_

"Don't you roll your eye at me!"

Platyborg marched over to the door, and studied it, hoping to find a lock that he could pick. _All the prison cells in the dimensions, and they stick me in the same one as __that__ guy._

He sighed. _Phineas, Ferb, and Candace in danger. Who knows where Annie is. Even the other Perry is out there fighting those robots. _And all he could do, was hope they were all okay...

**Isabella's Basement **

Phineas and Ferb had shut down Platyborg's lair, and gone through the secret tunnel the Resistance had made, that connected it to the neighbors house. They found most of the Resistance leaders there, and even Buford, who was still resisting them.

Phineas quickly explained what they knew was going on, while Ferb set up a link to the cameras.

"Any we haven't heard from anyone out there since the attack started. I'm really starting to get worried."

Isabella paced back and forth. "I wish we could help Phineas, really, I do… but with the attacks, we're just too busy. If whoever is sending these things out takes over…"

"I know, but.. My sister is out there. And Perry… I mean, Platyborg. That is, Perry is out there too, but…"

Isabella put a hand on his shoulder sympathetically. "I know its hard, but all three of them are trained agents. They're probably just taking cover during the attack. Now you two get back to Platyborg's lair. We've got to go."

Phineas shook his head. "Actually, that's not what we're going to do today."

**I****nside the Dumpster**

Candace and Perry had managed to find some old batteries, various bits of rusted metal, a pen, and about twelve dozen little models of Alt. Doof riding on a horse with his Obey Me sword and shield.

"I'm not sure what I can do with any of this stuff. I mean, if I were back home trying to get revenge for a back-story, maybe. But out here… I just don't do so well under pressure!"

Candace kept looking. "Just try and piece something together. I don't know what other chance we have!"

In the poor light, Perry bumped into Doof, and something rattled from the lab coat pocket.

Perry picked it up, and in a second, the light that came from his paws was almost too bight for the humans to see the look of complete astonishment on his face. _A flashlight, Doof? Really!_

"A flashlight! Really!"

Doof pulled at his shirt collar. "I, uh… heh he, kind of didn't know that was there. Sometimes my inators need to be worked on from underneath them… so, sometimes, I use a flashlight, and I guess this morning was one of those times."

Perry glared at him as he set the flashlight up in the corner so they could work.

Doof frowned. "No, no I do not have a blowtorch or something else useful hidden in my pockets, Perry the platypus! You just be quiet, and be grateful for the flashlight!"

Perry stopped mid-eye-roll, and found himself staring at the imprint the robot's hand had left.

It was bigger than he was.

All three of them shot each other uneasy glances, and started rooting through the trash all the quicker.

Doof sighed. "With that this out there, even if we get out of here, we're doomed."

"We just have to get out of here. The boys could be in trouble."

Perry's fist closed around something in the rubble, and he gave an excited chatter, but the other two must've thought he was just agreeing with Candace because he couldn't get their attention.

With a sigh he started working.

**Isabella's House**

Phineas and Ferb, with the added help of the Resistance and Buford, managed to upgrade all of the weapons in a very short time.

While they loaded their new and improved firearms, Phineas explained. "They all seem to be coming from Roddenstien's evil hideout, so we'd better strike there first. Hopefully we'll find our missing team members on the way. Any questions?"

Dr. Baljeet sighed. "Aside from the cliché "are we going to survive this attack?" no, no I don't."

Buford frowned. "Hey, can I still resist you guys if I come along?"

Phineas shrugged. "Sure!"

"Alright, Buford's in."

Isabella and the Firestorm Girls all stood to attention. "No questions. Awaiting your order, Phineas!"

Phineas grinned. "We. Move…. Now!"

With a cheer, the Resistance moved forward.

**In the Dumpster**

Doof sighed. "There just aren't enough parts in here. I don't think its gonna work. You both made a good effort though… wait… Perry the platypus! Are you even looking for anything? Here I am trying to tell you, you did a good job, despite the fact that we're about to suffocate in a dumpster, and you're over there messing around with a rock, and an old pair of nail clippers. That's just great."

Perry gave an irritated chatter as he wipe the sweat from his hat brim. _It's really hot in here._

Candace brought the flashlight closer. "What _have_ you been up to?"

Perry moved a little so that she could see past his shoulder. He'd taken apart the nail clippers, and was using them to cut a circle in the wall.

Candace frowned. "Nice thought, but there's no way you're going to be able to cut through that."

Doof leaned over. "… Well, not completely… but he _is _making a dent…" Understanding dawned, and he teased, "Perry the platypus, are you trying to escape?"

Perry grinned smugly. _That's the plan._

Candace stared at them. "I still don't get it."

Doof crossed his arms. "We'll keep working on this just in case, but I should of known he'd think of something. He _always_ thinks of something! Usually, that's a bad thing."

Perry stopped pounding the rock into the clippers, and held an open palm out to Candace.

"… My rod? Sure. Whatever helps."

He wiped the dust and metal shards off of his hands, and, taking the rod, went to the far side of the dumpster. He took a running start, the pole-vaulted to the center of the circle he'd made. A tiny shaft of sunlight rewarded his efforts, and he raced back to try again.

Candace blinked. "Does he really think he can break through that?"

Doof scratched the back of his neck. "Actually… you'd be surprised what that little platypus can break through."

As if to prove his point, this time Perry's lunge tore most of the circle from the wall with report.

Perry skidded to a stop, a little shaken, but outside of the dumpster. He gave a relieved smile as he glanced over his shoulder to make sure the other two were coming out. Candace had retrieved her rod.

She quickly stood at salute. "Good work soldier!"

Doof leaned nonchalantly against the dumpster. "Eh. I knew he could do it."

**To be continued…**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yay! They're out! I had a lot of trouble with that, because I wasn't sure how workable their escape was. I finally figured that it didn't really matter, but, in the words of Doof, "Eh." Please let me know if you think it needs work, and in the meantime…**

**Thanks for reading!**


	20. Fighting the ControlIzers

**Fighting the Control-izers**

"Candace!" The redheaded boy spotted short, and bolted down the alley his sister had just passed. She came back, while Perry and Doof poked their head around the building.

"Phineas? Ferb! What are you doing out here! Don't you know we're under attack!"

Perry just shook his head. _Of course they do. This Candace really needs to spend more time with her brothers._

Of course, the two _had_ changed a lot from the two cowering little boys that had been terrified of playing Doof-opoly. Perry was just so used to his kids… _What am I doing? We've got to get them back before they get hurt!_

Perry scolded himself as he marched to cross his arms beside Candace. There was no way he'd ever stand there comparing dimensions if his boys were out in this, and he owed it to Platyborg to treat these two the same.

He chattered to get the girl's attention, then motioned to the boys, then to her, then back towards their house.

She shook her head. "No. You take them back…"

Phineas crossed his arms. "No way are we going back without you, sis."

This time, the chatter was a warning.

Within seconds, they were surrounded by Roddney's robots.

As everyone scattered to get to cover, Candace shouted. "Fine! You help the resistance. I'll get them back!"

Perry saluted, and gratefully took a blaster that one of the firestorm girls was handing him. _Time for a little distraction._

**Unknown Location**

"… and for the most part, I was never even sure about the placement of my key buildings to begin with. I really could have done better…"

Platyborg sighed, and tuned him out again. At least there weren't _two_ of them. Still, listening to Doofenshmirtz ramble had never been never been enjoyable. From his tone, the evil scientist was trying to make the situation less awkward.

_We're trapped in this weird place, and there's nothing to do. _Except monolog. Sometimes, Platyborg wished that his 'modifications' had included a translator. At least then he could talk back.

"…'cause I just don't see the point in any of this. Why are we even here? We're not being tortured…"

_You__ aren't being tortured. _He didn't know how much more rambling he could take. From Doofenshmirtz, anyway. He could listen to Phineas or Annie babble on for hours at a time. _Annie…_

"…that's what _I_ always did. You lock up your prisoners, then you torture them. End of story. It doesn't matter if you don't actually want information or something…"

Platyborg shot him a look. _Whoever's behind this, is making us sweat. He __wants__ us to wonder what he's doing. It's all part of his plan._

He blinked in surprise when he realized Doofenshmirtz had finally stopped talking. He was just sitting there, studying the platypus. "I get the distinct impression that you've guessed why we're here. I really should have given you a translator or something. Then again, that would have been really annoying."

Platyborg glared.

Doofenshmirtz rolled his eye. "Well, at least I'm trying to make conversation! You're just sitting there like you lost your best friend… oh." He cleared his throat. "I guess that's what the other me said happened, huh?"

_Who knows where she is. Or if she's…_

Doofenshmirtz shrugged. "Eh, I wouldn't worry. I've only met her a couple times… but I just can't shake the feeling that she can take care of herself. That, and I really don't like her."

_Don't worry, the feeling's mutual. _If Platyborg knew Annie, she was worrying about everyone but herself. The girl definitely had a weakness, -one that he shared-, and the bad guys were only all to eager to take advantage of it.

He pushed the thoughts away. He was already worried sick about the boys and Candace. If let himself think about what might be happening to AJ, he'd go crazy. Maybe Doofenshmirtz had a point. Maybe they needed to talk, if only to keep their sanity.

He walked over, and climbed into the other chair.

They blinked at each other for a few seconds, then Doofenhsmirtz sighed. "I still got nothing."

Platyborg gave a bored chatter. _What are nemeses even supposed to talk about anyway?_

Doofenshmirtz leaned onto one fist and sighed. "Yeah, this just doesn't work so well. I mean, you are trapped, but I'm trapped too, and I'm not the one that trapped you."

_You really need to stop being so possessive. _

"And I don't have a single evil scheme_,_ and, at the moment, even if I did, you'd just flatten me and it'd be over." He gave another sigh. "Where did it all go?"

Platyborg chattered an answer to that one. _You turned me into a cyborg._

Doof glared. "Of for badness sake!You don't have to keep bringing that up all the time! Get over it, you big baby!"

They sat in silence for a few more seconds, then Doofenshmirtz shrugged. "It wouldn't be so bad, if we weren't locked in this weird, unspoken truce. Maybe I should try to build something, so you can try to thwart me."

It wasn't really a question, but the idea had merit. Instead Platyborg examined the salt and pepper shakers on the table. In between them, was a stack of playing cards.

Doofenshmirtz's face lit up. "Cards! Great! Now I can play solitaire, while you look and see if you can find a better game."

At Platyborg's irritated chatter, he scowled. "I am so not going to sit around and play 'go fish' with you!"

Platyborg rolled his eye, and pushed away from the table in disgust. _Right. Like talking to __him__ would help anyone keep their sanity! I must be going crazy already!_

**Roddenstien's Evil Hideout**

"C'mon girls! We've almost got them!" Another few robots exploded into scrap metal.

"I need backup… oh wait… never mind!" A well placed laser bolt from the platypuses gun took care of the problem

"Buford hates these things!" The boy was going from one robot to the next, tearing out wires with his bear hands.

The Control-Izers were nothing compared to the Norm-Bots. Their design was a little more showy, but less practical. The battle was over before it ever really began, and they soon found themselves standing in front of Rodney's Hideout.

Perry bent over to catch his breath. He couldn't help but find it strange to be the new, temporary leader of the Resistance. The little platypus was used to working alone, not giving orders to a bunch of humans who couldn't understand him.

Well, most of them couldn't understand him. Doof, armed with one of the ray guns and a baseball helmet -Perry still wasn't sure where he'd gotten it- came to stand him, a mixture of confusion and terror.

"You know, they're probably not going to understand you as well I can. I've been practicing for years now, and even I'm not sure what you mean sometimes. I can usually tell though. How 'bout it, Perry the platypus? Can I be your, I don't know, general or something?"

_General?_ Perry stopped short at the word, mind flashing back to his first trip to the 2nd dimension. Two angry counterparts glared at him before he could shake the mental image away. _Why would he chose to be my General?_

"You see? Right now, I'm getting.. I don't know. Confusion, some sort of flash-backy-thingy. But you take someone who doesn't know you very well, and what do they get from that? Nothing! I could help you out a lot, Perry the platypus."

Perry shrugged to quiet him down a bit, then took the copy of the plans out of his hat. _It's a good thing they wrote everything down. I'm not sure I could've come up with another plan fast enough._

The plan was simple, quick, and to the point, but it had been missing one crucial element; someone to pull it off. Preferably someone small, quick, and good at getting in and out of places.

And Doof was right. That someone _did_ need a translator.

He turned and pointed to the building, and then to himself. Then he pointed to the surrounding vantage points on the map, and then to the Resistance.

Doof nodded. "Alright, so you're going in alone, and you want everyone else to be ready to fight whatever comes out of there?"

At Perry's nod, the scientist continued. "That doesn't seem much like you. Is it dangerous in there or something? Because if it is, then you shouldn't go alone. I mean… I wouldn't want anyone else to destroy you before I could get the chance or anything…"

Perry gave him an encouraging smile, then darted into the building.

Behind him, he heard Doof shout to the Resistance. "Alright, let's get to cover, everyone! We might have to get rid of some more robots before this is over!"

As if on cue, a dozen Control-Izer's zipped past the platypus. Before he could be too concerned, though, he heard the laser fire that assured him the Resistance was well able to handle things.

Doof had been right; Perry had saved the most dangerous job for himself.

Slinking through the shadows of the building alone, Perry searched for some big, obvious machine that was building these things.

"So what are we looking for?"

Perry nearly jumped out of his skin as Doof's voice sounded out behind him. He turned to glare at his nemesis.

"I just thought you could use some, you know, help."

Perry held a finger up to his bill. _Just be quiet!_

He peered around the corner, then motioned for Doof to follow. After a few minutes, they found what they were looking for.

A big, white machine stood tall in the center of the room. Perry scurried over, took the device the boys had made from his hat, and clipped it to the machine. It instantly started flashing red, and Perry realized they had to get out of there immediately.

_They didn't put a timer on it? _He raced back and grabbed Doof's hand, pulling him along even as the explosion went off. _What were they thinking?_

He quickly pulled Doof into a side room, and they both dropped to the floor, covering their heads.

When the explosion stopped, they both looked up in relief. It didn't appear that the explosion had done much damage, except to the machine.

Doof looked around the room, and got to his feet. "Perry the platypus… what is all of this?"

**To be continued….**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry guys! This chapter ran a little long, and I have big plans for the next chapter, (well, sorta big) so this seemed like the best place to leave it. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon!**

**I want to thank everyone again for the awesome reviews I've been getting! It really does mean a lot to me! Thanks guys!**

**And thanks for reading!**


	21. Recipe for Disaster

**Recipe for Disaster **

Perry turned at Doof's statement, and his eyes widened. They seemed to be in some sort of conference room.

There was a large table in front of them, and the walls were covered in pie-charts, line and bar graphs, and statistics. But instead of being figures for company profits, they were labeled things like; **Population of Known Conquerable Area, Firepower Available, Estimated Time Before Attack**, and **How Long it Would Take to Conquer Two Worlds**

Doof crossed his arms. "Seriously, I asked a question. What's with all of this, Perry the…"

He turned around and found his nemesis still on the floor, lifting himself up with his hands, and staring at the carts, frozen in dismay.

Doof's voice lowered from its normal pitch. "Perry the platypus? Are… are you alright?"

At first he thought the platypus looked at him, and then he realized that he was staring _through_ him. When his arms started shaking, Doof awkwardly knelt down, and put a hand on his shoulder.

Perry jumped at the contact, and stared up at Doof, who was finally starting to take it all in. His voice was far from comforting. It was shaky, even to his own ears, but he had to do something. Even awkwardness was better than seeing his nemesis like this.

"I know it looks kind of… okay, really, really bad… but, we're already beating them, right? It's not going to happen." He gave a sigh of relief as some of the determination came back into Perry's eyes…

…..

As Doof spoke, Perry came out of his trance. _Everything that's happening here, to Platyborg's kids… they might be doing it to __my__ kids already! What if that's why the Control-Izers were so easy to beat…_ Of course that was why. They were just a blind. Alternate Dimension Rodney wasn't the main bad guy here. That was all too plain now.

He glanced up at Doof, and gave a confident nod. _My family is at stake. Failure is not an option._

Doof stood up. "That's my nemesis! And, for the record, I want to be the one who takes over the Tri-State Area, so that means fighting off everyone who's trying to stake a claim. I may not be your little friend AJ, but I'll help however I can. How about inators? Do you think you'll need inators?"

_What a terrible, yet almost try-able idea. _Perry had always been impressed by just how many of his crazy nemesis's inventions actually did what they were supposed to. Sure they all blew up… but maybe… just maybe…

…...

**Flynn-Fletchers House**

Phineas, Ferb, and Candace were waiting in Platyborg's lair, watching the whole attack through the cameras.

Candace was suspicious when Doof went in after Perry, and even more suspicious when the cameras all lost power at the same time. Phineas and Ferb leapt up to try and find the problem, but the didn't seem able to.

"I don't know what went wrong! It's like someone didn't want us watching the city…"

Candace asked. "So they shut the camera's down?"

Phineas and Ferb exchanged a look. Then Phineas spoke. "No, because then we'd be able to turn them back on. It's almost like… someone just destroyed them all."

Candace frowned. "At the same moment?"

At her brothers' nods, Candace rubbed her head. "What next?"

….

**Unknown Location**

While searching for some way to escape, Platyborg had found several game boards under the bed. At first Alt. Doof had shrugged. "Eh. I'll just keep playing cards. I hate board games. It's got bored, actually in the name!"

But after a while, he'd called Platyborg away from the tiny air vent he was inspecting. "Fine. I'm bored enough to play now."

Platyborg just wanted to ignore him, and find some way out.

Alt. Doof snapped. "Platyborg! Get your metal posterior over here so I can beat you senseless in one of these games!"

Unseen by Doofenshmirtz, a small smile appeared on Platyborg's bill, and a gleam lit his eye. _Hmm, beat him senseless huh? __Now __that__ doesn't sound boring at all! _He stood up, and went over.

"Good. Now, we're playing 'Trouble'."

Platyborg shook his head. _Not a game of chance. Something harder._ He went to the small stack of games, and grabbed a box, then slapped it down on the table.

Doofenshmirtz scowled. "You dare to challenge me to a game of chess? Why you over-confident little trash heap!"

_Insults again? Really? Are you that afraid of loosing?_

As Doofenshmirtz read the challenge on his former general's face, his own hardened. "Okay, you asked for it."

The threat dripped from his voice and he reached for the game like he was going for a weapon. "I'm black." He started slamming the pieces into place on the board.

Platyborg drew back a bit, trying not to tremble under the evil glare. _How can anyone be so intimidating over a game?_

He finished setting up, and quickly said, "I call dibs on first move! I know white goes first, but… hello! Evil!"

Platyborg just rolled his eye as Doofenshmiertz studied the board for a few seconds. "Checkmate!" He reached over and flicked the white king off of the table, then started laughing hysterically.

Platyborg calmly bent over to pick up the piece, and set it back.

Doofenshmirtz just grinned evilly. "What, you want to play again?"

Platyborg scowled and crossed his arms. _Stop being an infant before I 'm forced to thwart you for cheating!_

Doofenshmirtz read that one loud and clear. "You wouldn't _dare_!"

Platyborg raised an eyebrow, and Doofenshmirtz grumbled. "Fine. Just go ahead and drain all the fun right out of this. I suppose it'll have to wait for when I beat you at this stupid game." He grinned. "Again."

While Doofenshmirtz was busy breaking into another fit of laughter. Platyborg quietly reached across the table, and picked up the black king. He snapped the crown off of it, and tossed it across the room.

Alt. Doof looked up just in time to see what he'd done. "PLATYBORG! You pick that up, RIGHT NOW!"

A small smile broke out along his bill. _Make me._

They stared hard at each other for nearly five minutes, before Doofenshmirtz finally stood up. "Oh you are SO doomed for this! I am going to capture all of your pieces, and make you watch as I feed them to my goozim. And then, I am going to feed you to my goozim!"

Platyborg rolled his eye, and watched as the evil scientist started crawling around the room, looking for the piece, complaining loudly.

Now that he was finally distracted, Platyborg could risk turning his camera on again. He blinked in shock as Doofenshmirtz answered.

_The one from the other dimension… but what's he doing on Phineas's computer?_

The 'evil' scientist on the other end was even more shocked. "A robotic platypus?" On the other end, there was a sarcastic chatter, and a brown fedora covered half of the screen. "P-_Perry_ the robotic platypus? But… why is he a robot?"

Platyborg rolled his eye, and pointed the camera at the dictator on the floor.

"The other me? But… wait… you're saying the he did that to you? Wow… he is good."

Perry quickly repositioned the web cam so that he was the one on the screen, while Platyborg turned the camera back to himself. _Are you okay? Your kids are worried sick! Why are you with Doofenshmirtz?_

Platyborg chattered back. _We've been captured by whoever's behind all this. How's everyone there? Did the control-izers do too much damage? Have you found Annie yet?_

Perry shook his head. _Sorry, no sign of Annie anywhere. Your kids are fine. The Control-Izers are taken care of, but that's not the main issue._

_I know. Doofenshmirtz told me that there was some creep on the evil radar that wanted to take over __both__ of our worlds. I'm sorry we got you into this… but, Perry?_

_What?_

_I'm glad we've got you on the team._

Perry smiled. _I'm just as glad we have __you__ on the team. You are one tough enemy!_

Doofenshmirtz complaints suddenly cut short. "Aha! There it is! Wait… Perry the Platyborg! You broke off my crown! Where is it?"

_Got to go. I'll check in when he falls asleep. Good luck!_

_Same to you!_

Platyborg cut the connection short, and smiled while Doofenshmirtz hunted for the tiny black crown that was sitting on the white kings head…

…..

**Just Down the Hall**

AJ searched the room yet silence in the room was almost as thick as the carpet. The food on the table no longer smelled irresistible, but her the pangs in her stomach reminded her how long it had been since she'd last eaten.

There was no escape, and she didn't even have an evil former dictator to keep her company.

Finally deciding that she was going to pass out if she didn't eat something, she went over, and tried a small spoonful of the food. It didn't taste funny, so she tried a larger spoonful.

All of a sudden, the door swung open, and a troll-like maid stepped in. "So you finally decided to eat? For pity's sake! You should have eaten that hours ago! How am I to get my beauty sleep if you don't comply?"

AJ cast another suspicious glance at the food. "Comply to what?"

The ancient woman didn't need to answer, she was already feeling the effects of the food. In her weakened state, it didn't take long for the room to start fading. She fell from the chair, a sharp pain surging through her leg

A blurry version of the woman stood over her. "That's it. Just go to sleep. You'll get your answers soon enough."

**To be continued…**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, I wanted this to be more suspenseful, but, once again, the scenes took longer than I expected them to. Oh well. At least the plots moving along. At this rate, they should be meeting uber badguy before too long. Thanks for your support guys! And again, if you see anything that needs to be changed, let me know!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	22. Your Move

**Your Move**

Platyborg stared hard at the board, determined to make the best move possible. Doofenshmirtz wasn't complaining about how long it was taking him to move this time. He was just sitting there with a gleam in his eye, so the platypus could be reasonably sure that he had _some_ tricky move planned.

_Either that or he's just messing with it's hard to tell._

His concentration was shattered when there was a 'click' from the door, and it swung open. They both blinked over at it, and Platyborg quickly got up, and went to open it wide enough to look out.

Doofenshmirtz quickly moved one of his pieces, then, for good measure, moved another piece, he was wondering what other damage he could do, when he heard the platypus gasp.

He looked up in time to see the metal-plated tail disappearing around the door. Curious, and mostly wanting to get out of here, he got up and followed.

He found Platyborg on his knees in the hallway, bent over the unconscious form of AJ. The platypus was frantically checking for a pulse.

He went over, and stooped down, putting a hand on his shoulder to move him out of the way. He put two fingers on her wrist, and looked at his watch. "Heartbeat's a little slow… but it's still there. You going to try and break that hall door down, or are we just going to sit here and wait to be recaptured again?"

Platyborg shot him a warning glare, then went to try the door. As much as he wanted to get AJ out of there, it was locked even tighter than their room door had been.

Doofenshmirtz nodded when he came pack. "Someone's still setting us up. Tell you what… now that we're outside the door, you get to work taking those hinges off. We don't need to be locked in again."

With that, he picked up the girl, and bring her back to the room, and set her down on the bed.

The platypus gave a warning chatter, letting him know he was being watched through the crack in the door while the platypus worked.

"Oh for badness sake! Like I need _you_ beating me up! You realize, of course, that the only reason I'm even helping you with her, is because I know you'll never leave her here."

Platyborg finished taking apart the last hinge, and let the door fall into the room. His metal foot clanged on it as he hurried over to the bed.

Doofenshmirtz was taking off the bandage that was wrapped just above her ankle. She flinched, even in unconsciousness, whether from pain or Doofenshmirtz's touch, Platyborg couldn't tell.

He took her limp hand, and nuzzled it to his face with a soft chatter. _Please wake up, Annie._

Alt. Doof's rough voice snapped, "Don't get all mushy on me. Make yourself useful and rip off a piece of the sheets to get me a clean bandage."

For once, he didn't question the man's order on any level, just moved quickly to obey.

"It's not a bad wound, and even though it hasn't been cared for very well, it's healing alright."

He shot an angry glance down. "Would you stop looking at me like that? You look like a lost puppy! What's next, you going to start crying? I said it was healing alright!"

He stomped back over to the chess set, muttering. "For pity's sake! I may not be a real doctor, but I successfully turned you into a working cyborg. You're still alive, aren't ya?" Louder he added, "You decide which piece to move yet?"

Platyborg ignored the last part, and climbed up beside AJ. He didn't have time to beat Doofenhsmirtz at chess anymore. Whoever it was that had hurt her, wasn't going to get the chance to do it again. Not while he could stop them.

…

**Flynn-Fletcher House**

Phineas and Ferb were overjoyed to hear that Platyborg was alright. Perry had written a note, giving them the specifics of the conversation.

Candace was glad he was okay too, of course, but she was too busy worrying about the latest developments to dwell on it. Besides, unlike her brothers, she recognized that their pet was still in grave danger. He wouldn't be truly safe until they got him out of there.

The Resistance was working from both lairs now, some working to help the boys make weapons, some helping Dr. Baljeet try to figure out who their enemy was. The rest were helping her and Perry work on battle strategies.

"The most important thing is to keep him busy. He seems to be operating the whole thing from this area, so, if we can keep distracting him, he wont have time to go anywhere else."

Perry nodded. She could imagine that he agreed full-heartedly, since that plan kept the enemy a whole dimension away from _Perry's_ family. She tried not to get angry at him. After all, she'd left him and his family back on that cart to face Doofenshmirtz's doom, in order to keep her family safe. Sure she'd gone back, but it was a wonder he was even helping them at all.

Perry tapped on her arm, bringing her out of her train of thought. "Huh, what is it?"

He handed her a plan she'd moved to the bottom of a pile. She blinked at it a few times. "Finding Per- er, Platyborg and AJ? But, I thought you'd understand that better than anyone! If that were you, wouldn't you want to do all we can to stop these guys?"

Perry dug around the plans, and looking for a blank sheet of paper. When he cam up short, he tapped his foot, trying to think of another way to communicate. But Candace was thinking back to another lesson she'd learned.

"…when it comes to family, sometimes, you need to take chances even when you're sure that your wrong."

Perry looked up, trying to make sense of the barely mumbled sentence.

She nodded. "Our first responsibility is to them. And they can help us take these guys down."

Perry smiled, and tapped on another set of plans.

"You're saying that if we find them, we'll probably find out who it is that's behind this? Good point." She gave him a skeptical look. "Did the first thing factor into that, or are you just saying we should be trying to find the bad guy?"

Perry hopped down from the chair, and left the room. He came back a few seconds later with I picture Candace had all but forgotten about. In it, was the entire Flynn-Fletcher family of the 2nd dimension, Platyborg and AJ included.

She smiled looked at it, then ruffled Perry's hat. "Somehow I thought that's where you were going with this. Alright little guy, we'll go with your plan. Thanks for getting me back on track."

…..

**Unknown Location**

AJ gave a groan as consciousness finally returned. She squinted her eyes open, and found herself staring into a familiar face. She followed through with her immediate reflex to scream and punch him in the face.

Platyborg gave a reassuring chatter from beside her, while the former dictator stumbled back to fall on his behind. She sat up a bit to wrap her arms around the cybernetic platypus. "Perry! I've been so worried about you! Are you alright?"

His bill twitched with a smirk at the irony of her question, and he nodded. _You've been captured, shot, tortured by the look of it,, of course you've been worried about __**me**__._

He glanced back down at the still raw marks on her wrists, and hung his head in shame.

She reached a hand under his bill, and tipped his head up. "Hey, I'm an agent, too, you know. Don't you go blaming yourself for a mess I got into because I was careless."

Doofenshmirtz had picked himself up, and he was now standing by the bed, rubbing his face. "Hello to you too. You know, _I'm_ the one who re-bandaged your leg. That punch in the snout was hardly a thank you!"

She spared him a glance. "It was a reflex."

He scowled. "You're still not saying you're sorry."

She shrugged. "Well, it wasn't exactly intentional."

His scowl darkened. "You're not going to say that you're sorry, are you?"

She considered that for a moment. "Alright. I'm _almost_ sorry for punching you, but that's only because you at least tried to break Perry out of jail."

_It's good to have you back!_ Platyborg gave happy sigh as he snuggled into her shoulder.

AJ watched as something that was almost jealousy passed across his face. "Well, Platyborg, I guess you're capable of caring after all."

For a second, AJ tried to feel sorry for him. He was completely friendless. Still, he had no one to blame but himself.

She planted a quick kiss on top of Platyborg's head, then asked. "So what now?"

Doofenshmirtz paced the room. "That's what I can't figure out. They obviously wanted us to find you. It would have been impossible not to. And they haven't done anything since then."

Platyborg pointed to her.

"Me? Not much. After some sniper got lucky, I woke up in a cell, way different from this one. Kind of reminded me of your place, Doofenshmirtz, only worse."

Alt. Doof clenched his fists at the thought of someone being more evil than him.

"He kept me there for a while…"

Doofenshmirtz interrupted. "Who?"

She slowly shook her head. "He never gave me a name. He was always in the shadows, so I can't even really tell you what he looked like. He just kept coming in, telling me what was going on. At first I thought he was bluffing… but since you two really are trapped together…"

She shrugged. "Then I blacked out. I'm not sure why. But I found myself in one of these rooms for a while. Your brother was my waiter."

Alt. Doof blinked. "My bother? Huh. Haven't seen him in ages."

Platyborg pointed at the hall.

"I… sort of, tried the food."

Platyborg blinked in surprise. _You must have known better! Were you __that__ hungry?_

It certainly made sense. The girls face was pale and drawn. Now that she was awake, her weak state was even more evident.

"It knocked me out, and you know the rest better than I do. The question is; why? What could he gain from any of this?"

A loud voice filled the room from the tiny vent in the ceiling. "Your move."

**To be continued…**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, there it is! At least I don't have to jump around so much, since they're not as split up now. Hope you liked it! The next chapter will be another stab at action.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	23. A Dangerous Plan

**A Dangerous Plan**

Alt. Doof glared around the room, something on e bureau caught his eye, and he went over to it. "Our move? What's that supposed to mean?"

AJ suggested. "Maybe he just opened some way out?"

Platyborg nodded, and flew through the door. He came back in a few seconds, and shook his head.

"But, what does he expect us to do?" Doofenshmirtz complained.

Perry gave an anxious chatter. AJ looked over at him and nodded sadly.

_He's playing against our __whole__ team. He's already captured us… now he's waiting to see what the others will do…_

He started to pace, trying desperately to think of an escape plan. His protective instincts were already on the edge, so when he heard Annie's muffled cry, it took him only seconds to knock Doofenshmirtz on his backside.

He quickly surveyed the area, to see what damage had been done. _I can even turn my back on you for a second, can I?_ He reached down, and grabbed his shirt collar, yanking his head off the floor.

Alt. Doof glared up angrily at him, while AJ coughed and sputtered on the food he had forced down her throat.

"Hey, listen, I was just trying to help! I didn't see a point in bandaging her leg if we were all just going to starve to death!"

Platyborg's eye narrowed, and his chatter came through a clenched bill. _You listen to me, __pall__ that girl is the only family I can protect right now, and I am __not__ going to let you, or anyone else hurt her!_

"Perry, it's okay. Let him go." At AJ's soft voice, he let go of Doofenshmirtz, and turned to her.

She shot the man an angry look, then sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, he has a point. I've already tried the food once. If it doesn't do anything, then you'll know its safe. And if it knocks me out, then you'll be here to protect me."

_And if it's poisoned?_ He scowled at Doofenshmirtz again.

"Hey, if it was poisoned, she'd already be showing signs of it. Besides, your scanners pick up on all lethal substances. You didn't detect anything did ya? Then her chances are good."

Platyborg sighed, and picked up the discarded plate. _That idiot had better be right._

…...

**Flynn-Fletcher House**

"Alright you two, it's time to activate that tracker you put on Platyborg." Candace had called all the key members into the lair under the house for a meeting.

Phineas blinked. "Uh, sis? We tried that… like, as soon as he disappeared with Doofenshmirtz."

"Oh. Well, what did you find out?"

Phineas pressed a button, and a map filled the screen of the large computer in the middle of the room. "During the attack, they went to this warehouse. Then the tracker blinked out."

"So, basically, we've got nothing."

Phineas stared at the screen. "No, I mean, yes! Yes we do! Look! It's blinking again!"

Doof gave a snort from the corner. "No, basically, someone forgot they installed that tracker, and just made some weird, 'interference' excuse to make everything harder for us until this point."

Everyone in the room turned to look at him.

Perry shook his head, and motioned for them all to just ignore him when he got like that.

"Why am I the only one who understands what's going on when I break the fourth wall in your stories? Are you not answering me because you're writing this, or because you're just being rude?"

As Doof continued to rant to… whoever he was ranting to, the rest of the group turned their attention back to Candace.

"Alright people! We now have a target! Get ready, and suit up! Let's move!"

As everyone scrambled to obey, she turned to the screen, and murmured, "So, there you are, Platyborg. But, how could that be?"

…

They quickly exited the building, and got into the few remaining patrol vehicles. Phineas and Ferb were, reluctantly, staying behind with Dr. Baljeet, at Candace and Perry's insistence.

The platypus tried to make her stay, too, but she drew the line. "The sooner we find our Perry, the sooner he can be in charge again. Until then, I know the area better than you do."

The area, perhaps, but not the enemy. Perry might have guessed that this was all a trap, but Candace was so worried about getting her family back together, it never crossed her mind until a giant robot slammed into them, knocking them off course.

Perry leaned to help her with the wheel as they spun out of control, then quickly unblocked her, and tugged on her arm.

She didn't need any more of a hint as he half pulled her out of the car. It was the robot that had sealed them into the dumpster.

Perry immediately attacked it, effectively drawing its attention, and gunfire, away from Candace.

She snatched the opportunity, and called her brothers. "Phineas! Do you still have Platyborg's signal?"

He sounded worried. "No. It blinked out again, just a second ago."

"Sit tight!" she cut the connection and got her troops on the line, firing at the robot from behind the car. "Rescue mission aborted! It was just a decoy, repeat, back to the base!"

She took a deep breath, and hurried out to help Perry.

He was doing well. As far as she could tell, he'd already taken out two of it's weapons.

Of course, the thing _did_ seem to operate on indestructibility and brute strength… she didn't have time to focus as her feet were swept out from under her.

She hit the ground hard, and blinked her eyes open just in time to see the massive fist barreling towards her.

Two shots bounced off of the fist, and it stopped as the robot turned its attention back to the annoying little teal creature that kept firing at it.

A compartment opened in it's chest, and it fired one quick shot, before retreating.

Candace vaguely wondered why it hadn't stayed to finish her off as she raced to the spot where Perry had been standing. Her voice sounded anxious in her own ears. "Perry?"

…...

**Luxurious Prison**

"You two are crazy!" Doofenhsmirtz quickly ducked his head back behind his pillow barricade in the corner.

Even after AJ had said the food was fine, he'd refused to eat it. Despite what he'd told Platyborg, he'd never use a fast acting poison on two prisoners in the same cell. If the first one to eat it seemed fine, then the second one would eat it too, and they'd both be poisoned.

He didn't really have anything against the girl, but… better her than him.

Despite his withheld information, though, she seemed to be doing just fine. So fine, in fact, that she and Platyborg were working together on an insane breakout plan.

That crazy platypus was determined to get out of here, and even though she'd been told what happened last time, the girl was all for it. They were both crazy! Imagine, trusting someone that much, enough to agree to a plan to set off lasers inside a room like this one!

When he heard a strange banging sound, instead of a laser going off, he risked another peek. They'd both disappeared. He cautiously wandered out into the hallway, and peered out. "What are you doing?"

AJ, who had, with Platyborg's help of course, hobbled over to the door, was holding the metal plate they'd been fed on, while Platyborg bent it into a funnel shape in the tiny keyhole.

"We'll be done in a second. Just keep hiding. And don't talk. It may make this more dangerous."

Platyborg snickered, confirming Alt. Doof's suspicion. "Are you mocking me? You are!" He slunk back behind his pillows and sat down, crossing his arms.

That stupid platypus had never worked with _him_ like that.

AJ's voice came from the hall. "Better get down, Doofenshmirtz. We're going to try it."

He scoffed. "What makes you think that that funnel is going to work? Or that the lock isn't made of the same stuff, for that matter."

His only answer, was the sound of a firing laser…

**To be continued…**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, I feel terrible. I promise you guys action, make you wait for four days, and then all I write is a little robot attack with a cliffhanger. It's always so much longer before I get it written out… oh well. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	24. A New Point of View

**A New Point of View**

Candace didn't realize she was holding her breath as she tried to remember if the sidewalk had been in this many pieces. All she knew, was that there was no sign of Perry anywhere.

She spun in a circle, looking for teal fur and an orange beaver tail. In the drab, grey city, she didn't know how she could be missing the colorful little guy.

"Perry!" he was just gone.

A tear ran down her nose. She wasn't used to the feeling, and the lump in her throat was making it hard to get that air back.

A faint chatter froze her in her tracks. She turned, but there was still no sign of him. "Perry?"

Her mouth dropped open as the platypus scrambled up onto the side walk. He was less than two inches tall.

She dropped to one knee, and laid her hand out flat. He hopped onto it, looking around at the now much bigger world.

"Are you alright?"

He stared up at her, then gave two quick nods. He jerked a thumb towards himself, then pointed at her.

"Yeah, we definitely need to find my Perry now. And a Doofenshmirtz wouldn't hurt either."

Perry shrugged, indicating that he wouldn't complain.

"In any case, we'd better find some cover before whatever that was comes back."…

Perry sighed. He was used to being small, but this was ridiculous! He just hoped they could change him back before he went home, or the boys would be asking where he was when he was in the same room!

Candace's gait seemed a little rocky, especially from this 'high' up. Then again, it wasn't much different from being carried around by Norm. He could only imagine what Annie would think of this.

Candace sighed. "While we were being attacked by that thing, I realized that we should still check out that spot that showed up on the tracker, just in case. But now that you're as much good as pocket accessory… no offence…"

Perry shrugged. He was certainly the _size_ of one.

Candace's voice carried some uncharacteristic hope. "Maybe the effects wear off?"

Somehow he doubted it. The worst part was… he wasn't sure how well he could protect anyone in his current condition.

**Unknown Location**

Doofenhsmitrz broke the silence with a blood curdling shriek.

AJ jumped with another gasp of surprise, but Platyborg just rolled his eye, and turned to glare at the evil scientist. _Would you stop doing that?_

He hugged his knees, and stared ahead like he was in some sort of trance. "We're all going to die."

AJ was as annoyed as Platyborg was, and decidedly more freaked out. She stared uneasily at the figure in the corner, and whispered, "He's been like that for fifteen minutes."

Platyborg shrugged, and played three cards. He waved a hand at the deck to let her know it was her turn.

From the corner, Alt. Doof whined, "Stupid idiots are going to get us all killed."

AJ sighed. "It wasn't that bad." As she drew a card off the top of the deck, he started laughing manically, then shrieked again.

She jumped again, dropping her cards.

Platyborg shook his head. _He's just doing that to freak you out._

She frowned, and whispered. "It's working. Are you sure he's okay?"

Platyborg scooped up he cards and nodded. As much as they both hated to admit it, Doofenshmirtz had been right about the inside of the lock being the same material. The funnel had worked beautifully, but the laser bolt had just bounced around inside the lock, causing little to no damage.

Right before it dissolved, of course, it shot from the lock, bounced off the wall, deflected off the door, then the ceiling, and nearly singed Doofenshmirtz's hair. He'd had such a fit, they'd given up on the escape attempt, and were _trying_ to play a game of cards.

Platyborg was starting to wonder how hard it would be to put that door back up… after throwing Alt. Doof out of course.

To him, it was nothing but annoying, but AJ's nerves weren't quite as strong as his, and she'd been through a lot.

He handed her the cards, and gave her an encouraging pat on the hand, before going over to the bureau. He dug through the top drawer, found a sock, then started across the room with it.

Doofenshmirtz's eye suddenly focused, and he glared at the platypus. "You, wouldn't, dare!"

_Oh wouldn't I?_

Still seated at the table, AJ warned. "Perry, I don't think that's such a good idea…"

The platypus already had the evil scientist in a headlock. He stuffed the sock into his mouth, then walked back to the table with a satisfied smile.

Doofenshmirtz spit the sock out, then sputtered. "That, that… that was childish!"

Platyborg rolled his eye as he picked his cards back up. '_That, that… that's' the best you've got?_

AJ leaned forward into her arms, and her shoulders started shaking. Within seconds, her laughter filled the room, mingling with Platyborg's until he stopped short, turning sharply towards the doorway.

Rodger Doofenshmirtz was trying to push his cart over the fallen door. In a heartbeat, Doofenshmirtz lunged for him, and Platyborg held him back.

"What are you doing back in the tri-state area? I banned you for life, and neither of us is dead yet!"

Rodger took a step back. "But you're not the ruler anymore, and I, for one, am glad that we both survived your takeover."

Doofenshmirtz rolled his eye. "Platyborg… you have about two seconds to let go of me."

Platyborg loosened his grip, allowing him to yank his arm free.

AJ took control of the situation. "Are you ready to tell us why we're here, or not?"

He wheeled the cart to the table, and started setting out dishes. "I'm not at the liberty to discuss it. But I can tell you that the hall door will unlock in one hour, and there will be meeting held. You're expected to attend, of course."

Platyborg and AJ exchanged a solemn look. Neither of them liked the sounds of that…

…..

**Back at the Old Abandoned Old Abandoned Warehouse**

Perry sighed. All his equipment had been shrunken along with him, which was both good, and bad. For instance, he could still use his grapple hook, but it didn't have nearly as much reach as before, making it very difficult to do something as simple as climb a set of shelves to get a better view.

He and Candace had decided to risk a quick investigation of the place Platyborg's tracer had shown right before he'd disappeared, but they weren't having much luck finding clues.

He finally managed to clamber up to the highest shelves, and found himself surrounded by glue bottles, staplers, pencils, pens… all normal sized, but bigger than he was at the moment.

As his watch beeped, he pressed a button, and Platyborg's Phineas appeared on the screen. "Hey there, Perry. We just wanted to let you know that we finished making our Inter-dimensional Amplifier. You can use your watch to call home now, if you want to."

Phineas cut off the connection almost before Perry had time to chatter his thanks. _What are they up to now?_ He shrugged it off. _Not much I can do about it from here anyway._ He pressed a different button, and crossed his fingers.

"Jamison."

A grin spread across his face. The picture was a little fuzzy, but the Annie on the screen was the one from his dimension. She beamed. "Perry! Are you back already?"

He shook his head.

"Just checking in, huh? How's it going?" Perry took his hat off, quickly scanned the replicas of the plans with his watch, then sent them to Annie's computer.

The screen went crazy as it tried to focus while Annie moved around. Perry couldn't see what she was doing, but from her gasp of shock, he guessed that she'd just read what was going on.

"There hasn't been any sign of trouble in our dimension. Everyone's perfectly safe, but I'll try even harder to keep it that way from this point out." The signal started to break up. "You be careful, you hear me?"

He nodded, and gave a reassuring chatter, just in case her video was as bad as his. It probably was, because she hadn't commented on the enormous office supplies around him. The signal fizzled into nothingness, but at least he knew they were safe. Which was more than he could say for himself…

Without warning, something slammed into the set of shelves he was standing on. He flailed his arms, trying to get his balance back, but it was no use.

He gulped as he plummeted over the edge, realizing that he'd left his parasail in the wrong dimension…

**To be continued….**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry that took so long! I've had the first half of it written since I last updated, but I've been stuck on the second half. Severe case of writer's block. I'll try not to take so long with the next update. This story is just going in so many directions… (And I still can't believe I... I mean, 'that robot' shrunk Perry!' I've really been going back and forth about that.**

**I'd hoped to wrap this story up by now, and I'm not sure I'm even close! I don't know if that's good news or bad news, but either way…**

**Thanks for reading!**


	25. That Shrinking Feeling

**That Shrinking Feeling**

As Perry plummeted through the air, his mind raced, trying to come up with a plan to get him out if this. He didn't have time to panic before he landed with a jarring thump, in an outstretched palm.

The landing dazed him, but not too much to realized that teenage girl's hands aren't usually made of metal. He gave a tiny, alarmed chatter as the robot holding him slid him into some dark pouch.

The fabric jostled him about as he tried to escape, and the sounds of battle being joined between Candace and the robot made him frantic. He kicked and squirmed, but soon gave up even trying to stand up straight.

The robot carrying him started moving very rapidly. He gave a sigh of relief as Candace shouted, "Bring him back here, you rust bucket!"

His relief was replaced by apprehension as everything grew quiet, save the mechanical sounds of his captor. Candace was safe for the moment, but she was out there alone..

He tried again to stand up, only to fail, falling into the fabric once more. _A lot of good I'm doing here. Sorry, Platyborg. They're on their own again…_

**The Hallway**

Platyborg checked his wrist, and nodded. Their hour was up. He walked over to the door, and touched it with one finger. It swung open like it had never been latched.

With a deep breath, he led the way out of their prison. _Of course it's not going to be that easy._

He scowled at the sight before him; a long table, surrounded by more locked doors. As he tried each one, he took note of the lack of decoration. The floor had the same, thick carpet, and the ceiling had a shimmering chandelier, but other than that, it was just four walls, a mahogany table, and a large, flat screen tv.

As if his look had activated it, the screen turned on. There wasn't much to see though. The screen remained black. As he squinted at it, Platyborg though he could make out the faint silhouette of a man's head and shoulders. His voice suddenly commanded, "Sit."

Doofenshmirtz refused to comply. He glanced at the two agents, who pointedly crossed their arms, and stood stalk still.

The black figure gave a tired sigh and moved slightly. Several machine guns deployed from the ceiling, and pointed at Platyborg. He scowled at them, but refused to move.

Beside him, AJ paled, and slid obediently into her chair.

All eyes turned to lock on the platypus, who stood in defiance against the weapons.

AJ's voice broke the silence, soft and pleading. "Perry… Doofenhsmirtz, just sit down."

The voice still sounded tired. "Don't play games with me, Platyborg. You can't hope to win." To prove his point, the guns turned to aim at the girl instead.

The fight washed out of him instantly. He hung his head in defeat, and climbed into a chair beside AJ.

All of a sudden, he was scared. He turned to look at Doofenshmirtz. The man had refused to move for him, and he didn't blame him, but, he wouldn't just stand there and let AJ be shot… would he?

Alt. Doof showed them all that he could give a tired yawn, too. "I get your point. Those two are hostages against each other. But you got nothing on me!"

The guns spun to point at Doofenshmirtz, who mutters, "Oh." and sat down.

"Now I think we'll all agree that that was more complicated than it need have been. Let me clarify the rules for you. If Doofenshmirtz tries anything, he'll be shot. But if either of you try anything, I'll gun down your partner before you have time to regret it. Got it?"

AJ and Platyborg nodded sullenly. _I hope he realized that AJ's enough of a hostage. If he tries to bring my family into this…._

"Good. Now then, welcome to my staff. As my minions, your duties will start out light. You will be delivering food to newer prisoners, and, depending on your behavior, your tasks will increase as I am convinced of your loyalty."

Platyborg scowled. _You think I'm going to work for you? Keep dreaming!_ A growl started in his throat, but he stopped it as Annie touched his hand under the table.

"Where will we get the food to serve them?"

Platyborg blinked in shock, then glanced at her. _What is she up too?_

"Clever girl! Acceptance and initiative! You'll go far, I can tell. I've been watching you and your little pet, and I didn't think you'd want to see him blown away. To answer your question, the third door from the hall is unlocking now. It's a kitchen. You will prepare the food, and then cart it out the door next to it. We, as of now, have only one other prisoner, and he's in that room."

Without further instruction, the screen blanked out.

Doofenhmirtz sighed. "Cooks and waiters? That's all he can come up with?"

AJ shrugged. "Could be worse." She shot the man a dark look, then stood, and limped into the kitchen.

Doofenhmirtz caught her meaning as his cybernetic masterpiece gave him a similar look, and followed her into the kitchen.

He rolled his eye, then muttered, "That stupid platypus never protected _me_ like that."

…

AJ tried hard to ignore the pain in her leg as she whipped up a meal in the somewhat over stocked kitchen.

Platyborg helped where he could, but cooking was more her thing.

She grabbed assorted ingredients, and threw them into the pot after testing them. She wasn't going to drug some unsuspecting prisoner if she could help it. Besides, there was no sense passing up a chance like this. She intended on making way more than one prisoner could eat.

She finished, then dished up four bowls of the delicious smelling soup. She put the fourth on the cart, and wheeled it into the next room, like she'd been told.

Her eyes darted around ,scanning for a prisoner, but the room was empty. At least, it was at first appearance. Over in the corner, trying to squeeze through the tiny air vent, was none other than Perry the platypus of the first dimension, shrunken to the size of her thumb.

He wasn't getting very far, in fact, from the way he was squirming, he was stuck fast.

She hurried over the best she could, and gently helped him out.

He blinked up at her in surprise. "What happened to you?"

At the sound of his tiny, answering chatter, Platyborg peeking into the room, then hurried over. He gave a questioning chatter.

Perry shrugged, and chattered back, then hung his head, and chattered what sounded like an apology.

Before AJ had time to wonder what they were saying, a voice from the hallway reminded them, "You're only to feed the prisoner, not visit with him."

AJ sighed, and set him down by the bowl she'd brought in. "Sorry, Perry. We don't have a choice right now."

He gave her a salute, and watched as they left.

Platyborg lingered, but followed her when she touched his shoulder.

The door closed behind them with a bang.

….

**To be continued:**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, it's up. Sorry about the wait! This one's kind of short, but it seems like it took me forever to write. Thanks for being so patient!**

**This chapter is dedicated to NattyMc, who's been one of my most dedicated reviewers, and an awesome friend. I hope I posted in time for you to read this! Good luck on your tests tomorrow!  
><strong>

**And thanks for reading everyone!**


	26. New Developments

**New Developments  
><strong>

**Unknown Location: Perry's Room**

At first Perry had been as shocked to find those two working for the bad guy, as they had been to find him shrunken. But it wasn't had to see what must have happened. He gave a shudder as he realized the awful game this man was playing.

Having people used against you was the worst fear of every family agent. He knew all to well that it was Doofenshmirtz's threats to just _find_ Platyborg's family, was what had defeated him the first time.

His heart started pounding as he realized the next step the mastermind would take.

He'd need someone to use against Perry.

He frantically looked around the room again for an escape route, knowing all too well that this guy would be searching for either his host family or his baby sitter, and, thanks to him, they were all in one place…

….

**Back in the Other Room**

Platyborg paced back and forth while AJ re-bandaged her leg, and Doofenshmirtz snored in his little bunker of pillows.

AJ voice sounded hesitant. "Did Perry say anything about …?"

Platyborg shot a glance at Doofenshmirtz. He was muttering something in his sleep, and clearly not a threat to them. _She must think we're under surveillance. Smart. _He gave a nod, indicating they were safe, as far as he knew.

_Except Candace. Who knows what trouble she's gotten into by now._

He sighed, and climbed up on the bed to sit beside AJ. She pulled him into a hug, stroking his head gently. "I know. I hate not being able to do anything too. But I'm afraid he's got us, Perry. I just can't risk doing anything that'll get you hurt."

_Just __hurt__ huh? AJ was always one for understatement. _

Her gentle strokes were lulling him to sleep, entirely against his will. "It's alright, Puddin'. You need to get some rest." She planted a kiss on the bridge of his bill, and reached to pet his chin.

He yawned and closed his eye. Soon, his gentle breathing told her that he'd fallen asleep.

Guilt wracked through her. As she slipped her hand away, and quietly stepped down from the bed. This man in black had found the weakest link in the chain.

In the cupboard, next to the cans, had been a note. 'When the other's are asleep, the last door will be unlocked. Go through it. Do not tell the other's of this, or you know what will happen.'

She took one last look at her little partner, then slipped quietly out of the room, down the hall, and through the third door.

It slammed behind her…

…...

**Just Outside of the Old Abandoned Old Abandoned Warehouse**

There had been two robots. One had made off with the tiny platypus, while the other had fought her. After she'd trashed that one, three more had shown up. It had taken her a little longer to dismantle those, and now Perry was long gone. She could only hope he could take care of himself, despite his reduced size.

She turned, and headed for home to check in with her team, unaware that she missed seeing the 1st Doof by seconds.

The car he'd been in had been attacked as well. Those 'lighting'-storm girls had taken them out pretty quick, but he'd been separated in the struggle. Now he was just wandering around town, hoping that he would find Perry the platypus. Or at the very least, that he _wouldn't _find any more of those robots.

He slumped against the building Candace had just left, and sighed. "I hope the little guy didn't get shot or something. After all, I still have to go back home and answer to MC, and showing up without my nemesis would not be good."

AJ, well, the one from his dimension, didn't really scare him that much. But there was no telling how she might react if he showed up without the platypus…

"Oh who am I fooling?" The truth was, he couldn't bear the thought of going back without Perry the platypus. Of the little guy not showing up to fight him on a daily basis. And something else had been nagging at him for a while now. There was something he had to tell Perry the platypus…

**Unknown Location: Platyborg's Room**

The cybernetic platypus was so upset, Doofenshmirtz had added a few more pillows to his barricade. He'd woken up with a frantic chatter, and raced around, searching the room and hallway.

All of a sudden, he broke through the pile of pillows, and grabbed Alt. Doof by the shirt collar. His eye was narrowed into a furious glare, and Doofenhsmirtz started to wish he'd never had the bright idea to add a metal exoskeleton to the platypus.

"Would you calm down? I don't know where she went! She was gone when I woke up too. Maybe YOU chattered the wrong thing in your sleep, and she got zapped. Ever think of that, Platyborg? Huh?"

That comment at least shocked the cyborg into letting go of his collar.

Doofenshmirtz scowled. Platyborg was scared. More scared than he'd ever been of being 'modified', or taken apart, and it was all because of that girl

That stupid platypus had never worried about him like that.

As Platyborg paced pack and forth, fretting over the disappearance, there was a 'click' at the end of the hall.

Apparently it was time to feed the prisoner again.

He gave a sigh of relief, and waved towards the door. "Off you go. And take your time about it too."

Platyborg glared at him, and for a long moment he thought the platypus would refuse. Then he silently obeyed, with a look that told Doofenshmirtz it wasn't because he'd been ordered to do so.

_I can't risk having him find Perry like that. There's no telling what he'll do to him._ He gulped as he walked into the kitchen. _Where do I even start?_ AJ had always been such a good cook, he'd never bothered to pay attention to what she was doing. Now, he wished he had…

….

**Down the Hall.**

Perry had barely touched his swimming pool of soup. He was too sick with worry to think about eating. The door opened, and, to his shock, Doof was pushed through.

The 'evil' scientist started to grin sheepishly, before his mouth dropped open in shock. "Perry the platypus? You look like a little action figure! What happened? My shrink-inator is still in the other dimension…"

Perry just shrugged. _No sense trying to explain._

Doof came over to the table, and bent to peer down at him. "Wow, you really are small. They could make a movie out of this. "Honey, I Shrunk my Platypus, or something. Why'd you go and get shrunken anyway? Isn't it going to be kind of hard to thwart me like that?"

Perry shrugged again, as a voice came over from the vent he'd tried to crawl out earlier.

"My staff grows larger all the time! Perry the platypus and Dr. Doofensmirtz, welcome."

Doof scowled up at the ceiling. "You don't sound very welcoming. In fact, you kind of sound like me, right before I say, "and by welcome, of course I mean, UN-welcome! Not that you even sound like me. In fact, you kind of sound like…"

The voice continued undaunted. "Whichever way you chose to look at it makes no difference to me. All you need to know is, if you try and cross me, I will have your nemesis destroyed."

Perry blinked. _He's using Doof against me? Well, at least I know he doesn't have access to my family… yet._

"Hey! Nobody destroys that platypus but me! Unless… you were talking to him… in that case…" he paled and swallowed hard.

The voice confirmed. "I was talking to both of you." Then it went silent. No amount of ranting from Doof persuaded another comment from it.

He finally slipped into one of the chairs at the table Perry was standing on, and sighed. "Um, Perry the platypus? Do you think it would be considered defeating you, if I did something to make this guy defeat you? I technically would still have defeated, you, right?"

Perry didn't consider that one for even a second before he shook his head no.

"Oh. Me neither. Not that I was planning to do something like that or anything… I was just asking in case, you know, I mess up or something."

Perry paled slightly at the thought. _Killed by one of Doof's mistakes, in a different dimension, when I'm only two inches tall. Not exactly how I thought I'd go._

Doof was twiddling his thumbs, a sure sign that he had something he wanted to say. "Um… for the record, Perry the tiny-pus, I just wanted to let you know…"

He was cut short as the door opened, and Platyborg stepped through with a burnt piece of toast.

Perry frowned sympathetically at the worry on his face. He didn't need to be told that if Platyborg was bringing charred bread for supper, then something had happened to this dimension's Annie Jamison since lunchtime.

But what?

**To be continued… **

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well what do you know? I managed to write a chapter in less than a week! I actually don't have a whole lot to say, other than the fact that I seem to have way to many filler chapters. They all seem important though, so I'm not deleting any yet.**

**Thanks for reading!  
><strong>


	27. Dangerous Waters

**Dangerous Waters**

While Platyborg chattered to Perry, Alt. Doofenshmirtz began to get suspicious. He wandered down the hall, and into the next cell, blinking at what he found.

Doof started. "Hey, it's the other me! If I had an eye patch with a scar over it, and you were your normal size, and half metal, we'd look just alike, Perry the platypus!"

Alt. Doofenshmirtz scoffed. "Keep dreaming. It'd take more than an eye patch to make us alike."

Doof started to protest, then stopped, looking like he'd swallowed something sour.

The platypi ignored the scientists, and kept chattering. _So we can't do anything without risking your Annie?_

Platyborg shook his head. _He must have made her leave, or she would have left a note, or something…_

Perry nodded. _You're probably right._

As a matter of fact, Perry was sure that he was right. AJ didn't seem any different from his own Annie, a little more serious maybe, and better at mechanics, but over all, she responded to situations the same. There was just no sense worrying Platyborg any more than he already was.

Platyborg sighed. _I just don't know what to do… she's always been there for me. Through everything, but I never seem to be able to be there for her. _

Perry tried to sound encouraging. _You are. You can't help her right now, but if it were possible, you would. And she knows that._

The next chatter explained the guilt on his face. _I promised I wouldn't let her get hurt again. And there's nothing I can do. I shouldn't even be talking to you now._

Perry shrugged. _You'd better go then. But don't worry. From the looks of things, he'll have us working for him too, soon. _

Platyborg nodded, and all but pushed Alt. Doof out the door with him.

As they went by the kitchen, he grabbed the burnt toast that made up their own supper. He turned to leave, but something in a half opened drawer caught his eye.

Balancing the tray on one hand, he opened the drawer, and pulled out a small, very familiar looking knife.

His heart pounded as he closed the drawer again, and slid the knife into one of his storage compartments.

He could only hope that he'd have the change to give it back to Phineas.

And that the mastermind didn't know who, or where, his family was…

…...

**Elsewhere**

AJ tried to stay calm as a large stack of papers was thrust at her. She balanced them on top of the ones she held in her arms, and set off to deliver them. She tried to keep her eyes fixated ahead, but the top sheet of paper was literally right under her nose. She couldn't help glancing at it.

Enough to know that it was a set of blueprints, for a portal to the other dimensions.

She went to the office she was supposed to deliver them to, then set them down on the edge of the desk, purposefully tipping the stack, just a bit, as she did so. As expected, the entire tower of papers toppled, scattering everywhere.

She dropped to her knees to re-stack the papers, making sure that, in her haste, one paper in particular was swept under the desk. As soon as it disappeared, she closed her eyes, and prayed that it hadn't been noticed, or at least that her actions hadn't just sealed Platyborg's fate.

Her curiosity was caught by a passing guard. A long line of scientists who looked utterly displeased to be there followed him. Of course, that look was common enough among the 'employees' of the mastermind.

Not having any other orders, she fell into step behind them, never realizing what she was about to uncover…

…..

**Platyborg's Room**

D`eja vu. Locked in a room with Doofenshmirtz, and nothing else to do. Yep, he'd definitely been here before.

They'd gone back to the chess game. Platyborg had immediately moved the two pieces that Doofenshmirtz had tried to sneak.

The former evil dictator was still pouting about that, making Platyborg more determined than ever to win.

A sly smile crept up his bill as he moved a piece, enjoying the worry on Doofenshmirtz's face as he saw what was happening to the board. In this game, at least, Platyborg had the upper hand.

…...

**Flynn-Fletcher Residence **

As Candace was walking down the hall, something wrapped around her legs. Two somethings, or, someones, as it were.

She sighed, and stooped to hug the boys. "What's wrong?"

Phineas whipped a tear out of his eye. "We haven't seen or heard from Platyborg in a while, and its been much longer since se last saw AJ. We're really worried about them."

Ferb nodded.

Candace sighed. "I know. I'm worried too. But that tracker signal, it was just a decoy. We have no idea where either of them are. All we can do is hope that they took Perry to Platyborg, because with those two working together, there's no way this guy can win. And they both know AJ's out there somewhere. We'll get them back, guys. All three of them."

Phineas brightened at her encouraging words. "And things will go back to normal? Not our normal, I mean, this pretty much _is_ our normal around here, but the normal that the us's from the other dimension were talking about? That normal?"

Candace blinked in confusion. "Uh, yeah. Sure, Phineas."

He beamed. "Good, because I don't like our normal."

Ferb looked at him.

"Hey, you're right, Ferb! We oughta get ready for whatever this guy tries next. Maybe we can find some way to close other dimensional portals, so we can keep the fight here. And we need more weapons. Lots and lots more weapons!"

…...

**Unknown Location**

AJ followed the line of scientists until they walked, single file, through a door. She crept up to it, and peered through the crack in the door.

At the head of the table, sat the silhouette of the man who'd taken it upon himself to destroy them all.

Her eyes widened as a light suddenly snapped on, just over his head, revealing him for the first time.

She quietly took out the sheet of paper she'd made of the villains of L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. in what felt like a lifetime ago.

His name was there.

As he stood up to make his speech, she was able to name him properly for the first time…

**To be continued…**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: That's right folks! We are finally about to learn the name of the mysterious mastermind. Clues to his identity have been very vague, in fact, I've been going back and forth about it. But soon, we will find out why he has finally stepped into the light!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	28. The Mastermind

**The Mastermind  
><strong>

It was the Regurgitator.

She glanced at the small picture beside the name, then back up. All of the villains in this dimension looked more evil than their counterparts. The Regurgitator was no exception.

He was dressed completely in black, save a pea green belt around his waist. On that, hung all sorts of remotes, and devices.

AJ wanted to hear what they were saying. She knew it could help them fight back. But she also knew that she was already risking Platyborg's life.

She hesitated for a moment longer, torn between her duty as an agent, and her duty as a friend.

She quietly crept back down the hall.

She knew Platyborg would scold her for her decision. Knew that he'd be furious at her. But she just couldn't risk it. The world needed that adorable little platypus. And so did she.

Behind, in the hallway, the meeting went on, none of the scientists guessing how close the 'Boss' had been to pressing the button that would have fired a laser at Platyborg.

He smiled, knowing that his plan was going perfectly. "It looks like at least one of our new recruits is loyal."

Roddenstien sniffed. "How do you figure that? They've been fighting to defeat you. Why would they work for you?"

He smiled. "Not loyal to me, you idiot. Loyal to her little friend. And something tells me the others are just like her. That's how you win. You discover what's important to the opponent, and you threaten it."

A scientist in the back spoke up. "Why not just destroy it?"

He chuckled, and strolled down to where the unnamed scientist sat. "Because then, what keeps the person you're threatening under your thumb? No. If they can't be bought with power, you the thing they love most, and you put a gun to it's head."

He knocked the scientist out of his chair, and angrily stormed back to the front of the room. "This is not evil class! This is a meeting to decide how to take down my nemesis!"

A newer recruit piped up from the back. "Uh, boss… who exactly _is_ your nemesis?"

He glared for a second, then threw his head back, raising his arms as lighting flashed, and the room darkened, all controlled by a remote. "T**he ****world**** is my nemesis!**"

….

**Perry's Room**

Doof sat twiddling his thumbs. "Perry the platypus…" he stopped, and seemed to change his mind about what he was going to say. "um… do you really think this guy will destroy us if we do something wrong?"

Perry shrugged, then nodded grimly. _Probably_.

"Oh."

They sat blinking at each other for a few seconds, then Perry sighed. _What?_

Doof cleared his throat. "Nothing's bothering me! I just… that is…you see, Perry the platypus, in case one of us gets the other destroyed or something… I just wanted to say…"

He paused, as if waiting, then shrugged and continued. "Sorry about that. I was kind of expecting something big and unexpected to happen, cutting me off, and keeping me from finishing my sentence. I guess it's not going to happen. Huh."

"Anyway, what I was going to say, is…" A gigantic steam shovel head crashed through the wall, tearing out a chunk that let them see clear into the other room.

Platyborg and Doofenshmirtz had still been at their chess game. A flying piece of debris had knocked the evil scientist flat.

A voice called out on a loudspeaker. "There you are Perry!"

Platyborg gave an excited chatter, and rushed to look down. Phineas and Ferb were at the controls of the giant constriction vehicle, and grinning widely. "Don't worry about getting shot at, boy, we already took out the security system!"

Platyborg gave them a salute, and chattered over the noise of the engine. _Perry, help them! I need to find AJ!_

Perry shrugged. _Looks to me they can take care of themselves. We'll all go, and they can stay out here and finish surrounding the place!_

Platyborg nodded, and motioned for the group to do just that. Checking to make sure Doofenshmirtz was still alive, he flew him over to the other room. He started to regain consciousness as they landed.

"Perry the Platyborg, you just scared the Doonklestoomp out of me!"

He ignored him, and held out a hand to Perry. The tiny platypus hopped on, and Platyborg flew out so he could unlock the door. _I sure hope the boys were right about that security system…_

…...

**Elsewhere **

AJ was obediently shuffling through paperwork when the whole building shook, knocking her to the ground.

She went to the hallway, and was met by the Regurgitator himself, and three burly guards. They pointed their guns at her, as the Regurgitator backed her across the room. "Sorry, sweetheart, but it seems your little buddy made a getaway. It's a shame, too, because I had high hopes for you. To bad he's not as loyal as you are."

She straightened her back, standing tall. "He'll be back."

He cupped a hand around her cheek, and shook her head. "But he's not going to make it in time."

She didn't falter. "Yes he will. He might not get in here in time to save me, but they're going to stop you from taking over both worlds, make no mistake about that."

He shrugged. "Well, you're right about one part. It's too late to save you."

He snapped his fingers, and the guns on either side of her cocked.

Her arms only tensed a little as they pulled the triggers, then everything happened at once.

A teal and metal blob flew into the room taking out both gunmen at the same time.

AJ was prepared to try and dodge the bullets, but that last thing she expected was for a giant wrecking ball to come crashing through the wall. She was knocked off balance, and into the gapping hole it had left in the floor.

Platyborg let the Regurgitator rush past him as he ran to look over the edge. _AJ!_

He gave a sigh of relief when he saw her gripping onto the side of the building, just a little below him.

Her smile gave was to shock. "Perry, behind you!"

He turned in time to see the Regurgitator swinging an office chair at him. He caught the bottom, and pushed back, chattering for AJ to hang on.

The Regurgitator roared, "You meddling little menace! I'll show you what happens to people who mess with the plans of, **THE REGURGITATOR!**"

Platyborg gave a surprised chatter at the blinding light effects, giving his opponent enough of an advantage to club him over the head with the chair.

Dazed, but still able to fight, he knocked the man's feet out from under him, and went back to the hole in the floor. He peered out over, just as the Regurgitator kicked him square in the back.

It was enough to topple him out the window, and down to AJ. His hand wrapped around her wrist while she clung to the side of the building, and he used his free hand to press the button that activated his jetpack.

It wasn't working.

He gave an alarmed chatter as he looked up at AJ, who seemed all too aware of his coughing and sputtering jets. Her grip on his wrist tightened, and she looked up, while he looked down.

They were only about ten stories off the ground. No big deal. They could handle this.

"Um, Perry, grappling hook?" AJ sounded worried, and he didn't blame her.

He could have smacked himself. Of course he needed to use the grappling hook! He aimed up, and fired. Once it settled, he let go of AJ's hand, letting her get a better grip on the window sill. She climbed up behind him, and immediately took a look at his jetpack while he looked around the empty room.

Apparently the Regurgitator had decided to flee while he still could. Apprehension pulled in his chest, just as real as whatever AJ was doing to his back.

"Doesn't look bad, but no stunts 'till we're out of this."

He nodded. Now that they were out of immediate danger, he let himself take comfort in the fact that she was alright. Apparently the feeling was mutual, because she pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her neck, and held on tight.

"You saved me again, Puddin'. I knew I could count on you." She said it so matter of factly, like they were already out of this…

"Let's go find the others, and see if we can't put a stop to all this. What do you say?"

He nodded while she planted a quick kiss on his head.

The Regurgitator was still out there somewhere… and there was no way they'd be able to take him down without a bigger fight than that….

**To be continued…**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, there it is. The Regurgitator. I had him in mind from the start, but he seemed too… one episode-ish, to use as a villain. I finally decided that he was better then Dr. Bloodpudding, but, eh. Let me know what you think! It's not to late to rewrite this chapter with a better, or even an original villain. I'm open to suggestions!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	29. Double Doofs

**Double Doofs**

While Platyborg and AJ chased after the Regurgitator, both counterparts of Doofenshmirtz were arguing about the best way to take down a guard in the hallway that was cutting off their escape.

"I say we send the puny platypus in."

Doof put a protective hand over Perry, who was perched on his shoulder. "Why would we do that? He shouldn't have to do all the work!"

Perry gave up trying to get a word in edgewise, and settled for trying to push Doof's hand off from him.

"Why should we help him? He's the good guy."

Doof rolled his eyes. "But this is one of those weird truce scenarios where the good guys and the bad guys have to work together to take down a bigger bad guy. Haven't you been paying attention?"

"Well, yeah, I just haven't been cooperating, and… hey! Wait a minute! What do you mean; a _bigger_ bag guy?"

Perry gave a warning chatter while Doof explained, "I just figured out who he is. I've got one in my dimension too. It's the Regurgitator. Have you ever met that guy? He's huge! And…"

He was cut off by a tiny beaver tail smacking him in the face. "Perry the platypus, I'm trying to talk… oh."

They both looked up at the angry guard that had started the argument.

Alt. Doofenshmirtz grabbed a conveniently nearby vase, and whacked him over the head with it. "Alright fine, I'll help a little, but I m SO not doing all the work!"

"Whatever. You know, I wish we had time to build an un-shrinkinator. It's make things go a whole lot easier."

Alt. Doof rolled his eye. "Well we don't have time, so your itty, bitty nemesis is going to have to make do." He stopped, and put his hand on his chin. "On second thought… that just might work…"

"Building an unshrinkinator?"

"No… follow me."

Doof hesitated. "It wouldn't take that long!"

They followed him down the hall, through a door, and found themselves in the robot assembly room. Alt. Doofenshmirtz immediately began grabbing odds and ends, and slapping them together.

Doof plucked Perry off his shoulder, and set him down on a shelf. 'Are you building an inator?"

"Well, duh!"

"Oh. What are we building?"

Alt Doofehshmirtz ginned evilly, "Something with a big self destruct button!"

Doof nodded. "That, I can do. C'mon, Perry the platypus, you might as well help."

…...

**Elsewhere**

Platyborg and AJ still hadn't found the Regurgitator, but they'd taken out several of his minions. With everyone freed, the resistance had stopped knocking holes in the building, and were using their giant machinery to take the prisoners into custody.

Platyborg tugged on AJ's pant-leg, and pointed down towards the boys. She caught his meaning, but seemed torn. "They should be safe enough, Puddin'."

_They'll never be safe enough to satisfy me._

"But, the Regurgitator…"

He waved it off. _I can handle him, no problem._

She sighed. "Alright, but you be careful, or else I'm coming back in there after you." She gave him a quick hug, then stepped onto the lowering platform.

He waved. Then gave a sigh of relief. _Now that they're all out of danger, I can focus on taking out the rest of the bad guys._

He hurried off, determined to find the Regurgitator before he could try anything else…

…...

**Back in the Robot Room**

Neither Doofenshmirtz had ever been slow when it came to inventing, and with Perry small enough to climb inside the machine, it only took them half an hour to get it set up.

"Are you sure that this is connected inside?"

Doof knocked on the machine. "Perry the platypus, is there a green wire connected in there?"

Perry have an affirmative chatter. "Okay, great. How 'bout a blue one?"

The platypus scurried around, then poked his head out, shaking his head no.

Doof turned to his counterpart. "We're missing a blue wire."

He put his hands on his hips. "Well I can see that you Dumkoff!"

"Hey, who're you calling a Dumkoff, you Dumkoff!"

Perry rolled his eyes, climbed down the machine, found the blue wire, and connected it himself. He poked his head back out, and tugged at Doof's sleeve to get his attention.

"…What? Oh, Perry the platypus, you found the blue wire. Great, how about a red one?"

While Perry checked, he turned to ask his other self, "SO, what are we building again? It's not an other-dementioninator, or anything, is it? Because that could be bad."

"Well, personally, I'd rather have these creeps in your dimension than in mine, but it doesn't matter. This isn't one of those. It's a blow itself up-inator. I already told you that."

"No, you said it would have a self destruct button. That's it? That's the best you could come up with?"

He shrugged. "We don't have time fore anything else. Now why don't you two finish up, while I get out of here. I don't want to chance being here when this thing explodes." With that, he raced out of the room.

Doof scratched his head. "Me neither. Any ideas, Perry the platypus?"

Perry pointed to the clock on the wall.

"Is it super time already?"

At Perry's blank stare, he looked back at the clock. "Oh, I get it!"

…...

Alt. Doofenshmirtz passed Platyborg in the hallway, both running. He shouted. "Hey, you might want to clear out of here. We're about to blow the place sky high!"

Platyborg gave a somewhat grateful chatter, and doubled his pace. _Looks like I'll have to make this quick…_

He located the computer room, and bypassed the security code. It was easy to locate him, they were the only ones left in the building. The Regurgitator was escaping down the stairway. Platyborg set off at a run again, hoping to head him off.

It didn't take him long to find the stairwell. He slid down the railing, and flipped at the bottom. His eye widened in shock as he landed; the Regurgitator had been waiting for him, with a large laser cannon.

The man smiled evilly, and fired.

Platyborg felt the shockwave pulse through him, his circuits taking as much of a beating as the rest of him. He was only barely aware that he was now lying on the cold concrete floor as spasms of electricity continued to flow through him.

The Regurgitator bent over him. "Sweet dreams."

He felt panic rising as Doofenshmirtz's sentence played through his head… "_We're about to blow the place sky high!" _AJ's voice replaced it. "_Be careful, or else I'm coming back in there after you_."

He had little doubt that Phineas and Ferb would be right behind her.

He could _**not**_ black out.

He weakly got his feet, and rammed into the retreating Regurgitator, dodging so that the man couldn't fall on top of him.

_I've got to win…_

But he knew he was fighting a losing battle.

**The Robot Room**

Doof and Perry had finished installing the timer, and were on their way out, when Perry pointed across the room.

Doof looked, and saw that he was gesturing to a machine labeled, 'grow'. "Hey, good idea!"

He went back to the blow itself up inator, and stopped the timer, then set him down, then raced over to the machine. "Hold still, Perry the platypus!"

Perry braced himself, closing his eyes tight as he was hit with the beam.

Nothing happened.

"Well that was a letdown."

Perry shrugged, then his eyes widened as the ground started shaking.

In the blink of an eye, he was at his normal height again, but before he could feel relieved, the machine he'd been standing on also expanded, filling the room.

Doof gaped. "I, uh, guess I should have set you down on something else, huh?"

The growth had made the machine much bigger than they'd intended, and started the timer again. "Le… let's get out of here, Perry the platypus! Before this place disintegrates!"

Perry was already pulling him out the door.

….

As they raced out the front door, Doof screamed, "Everybody back! This place is going to blow!" In the uproar that followed, Perry , couldn't tell who had made it out of the building. He gestured that he was going to tell the people out back. Doof nodded, and kept warning people.

Most people had already got the message, and were running for the cars. Only one person was running _towards _them. "Doof, did Perry make it out?"

Doof grabbed her shoulders, and turned her around. "Of course he did, AJ, he's leaving in a different car. We've got to get these people out of here!"

As she practically melted with relief, Doof had a sickening thought. She'd meant _her_ Perry. And he had no idea if Platyborg had made it out or not…

**To be continued…**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'll try to have the next part up soon. Thanks again for your reviews, guys! They're appreciated!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	30. Explosion

**Explosion**

Platyborg staggered back against the wall as the Regurgitator turned, and ran. Something had tipped him off about the impending explosion.

The bad guy was getting away, and there was nothing he could do about it. He was too weak to fight. Too weak to even follow him out of there.

He shook his head, refusing to give up. His family would be looking for him.

Knowing he had precious little time to waste, he tried to remember those plans for the takeover that Perry had shown him. There had been a set of blueprints in there somewhere...

_Why do I need those? I need to try an get out… so, tired… Underground… tunnel…_

It was a long shot… but he didn't know how long he had before this place came down on top of him. He started to stagger down the last couple flights of stairs, and slipped.

The sounds of the his metal body bouncing and sliding down the steps filled the stairwell. He landed at the bottom with a choking crash. It hurt, even to breathe… and he still wasn't to the tunnel.

Using the last step to stand up and walk over to the door at the end, and pushed his way through. He didn't know if it had been locked, or even guarded at one point. All that mattered to him, was that it swung aside, allowing him to step through.

It took the last, little bit of energy that he had. He felt himself falling again, and the cold concrete hitting him in the face was almost a relief.

He turned his head to the side, so that he wasn't balancing on his bill. Sharp, little pebbles pressed into his cheek, but that pain hardly mattered. He was in agony, from head to toe. He whimpered, once, then decided it was too painful.

Smiling faces of his loved ones played through his memory. He clung onto them, until the black wave of nothingness swept over him.

Somewhere, dimly, there was a noise, that should have been louder. It seemed farther away than it should have been. Then there was rumbling, as the building collapsed…

…...

**Outside **

"What do you mean he's not with you!"

Doof bit his lip as he listened to the girl behind him. Her voice was shaky and weak, even though it sounded like she was trying to yell it. She'd just called to check on the other cars, and apparently just found out what he'd been afraid had happened…

Platyborg was in the building… or rather.. the pile of rubble.

His face pinched, and he felt sick to his stomach. He'd never meant to hurt anyone with that inator. Until it became the size of an elephant, it was only supposed to be a diversion… at least, he though that's what the other him had been planning. Maybe he'd planned to destroy everyone all along… who could say?

Destroy… Perry the platyborg… what a waste. If that had been _his_ nemesis… well, he just didn't want to think about that right now…

He turned, and saw that the girl's face was chalk white, her head shaking in denial… then, she snapped, and lost all reason.

That had to be why she'd slide of the back of the truck, and race back toward the rubble.

He must be crazy too, jumping out to follow her. It was a good think that the truck they'd been in wasn't moving very fast.

Doof had never been very fast, but the poor girl could barely walk, let alone outrun him. Or so he thought. He realized with a start that he was falling behind her. All of a sudden, a teal blob appeared out of nowhere, and stopped her.

At the sight of the platypus, tears started flowing down her cheeks. Perry kept blocking her as she tried to go past him. "P- please! I have to go back!"

Perry looked both sad, and determined. It appeared that he now considered the girl's safety his responsibility.

Doof finally caught up. "She's right."

They both turned to stare at him. He shrugged. "We can't just leave him there. Perry the platypus, you go get the others out of here. I'll help her, as your general, instead of your nemesis, so you can trust me."

AJ pushed past. "We don't have any time to lose. Get them out. We'll find Perry."

It was clear that the platypus didn't like their plan, but he gave a slow nod, then scampered back to the cars.

Doof reached for her arm, so she could lean on him. She shot him a glare, then sighed, and accepted his help.

He winced. "It was an honest mistake… I assumed you meant Perry the platypus…"

Even hobbling, she was practically dragging him along. "Platyborg _is_ this dimension's Perry the platypus!"

He sighed. "I know, I know… but it's hard to think under pressure…"

He thought for sure he heard her mumble, "It's hard for you to think at all."

"Hey, what was that?"

She ignored him. "Never mind. I can track Perry… _my_ Perry's signal through this device. Let's go."

…

As Perry got the cars moving again, Phineas asked, "Why is AJ leaving?"

Candace didn't have the heart to tell him that Platyborg was missing, yet again. "Uh… she needs to make sure there were no bad guys left in that building."

"Oh, okay." Phineas brightened. Candace gave a sigh, feeling guilty. When she was sure the boys couldn't hear, she turned. "Bring him home, AJ. He's tough enough to survive even that."

…...

**Underground**

Platyborg felt consciousness returning, but it brought torturous pain with it, so it was less then welcome. He let out a moan, despite the fact that even _that_ hurt.

_How do I get myself into these messes?_

Footsteps echoed through the corridor. He tried to move, but his whole body had shut down. He couldn't even turn his head as a shadow fell over him.

It quietly reached for him, and two arms gently lifted him from the ground.

He couldn't stop the smile from forming either.

_AJ._

He was blacking out again, but it didn't matter. He was safe now.

…...

Again, consciousness returned, and again, it brought pain. But it was more bearable this time.

He could feel someone hovering over him, making repairs to his damaged systems, and bruised body.

_They could have found a softer hospital bed, but who am I to complain.?_

"Well, this isn't as bad as I first thought it was going to be. You really took a beating."

Platyborg's eye flew open. _That's __not__ AJ's voice…_

Doofenshmirtz, _his_ Doofenshmirtz, was the one working on him. He was awake enough to know that AJ never would have allowed _that_.

He immediately tried to struggle, but he was held down by bonds at his wrists and ankles.

His chatter sounded more weak and pathetic than angry.

Alt. Doof glanced up. "You awake already? Well, at least you slept through the worst of it. I wasn't sure if I could help you for a while there."

Platyborg looked around with growing horror. They were in Doofenshmirtz's lab.

The doctor went right back to work, no doubt enjoying every moment of this.

"You're lucky I even found you at all! I wasn't looking for you or anything... that was perfectly natural... the going back to the demolished building thing. Then I figured I couldn't just leave you there. But it's going to be just fine now. Everything goings back to the way it was."

_No!_

Just as panic set in, there was a crash from behind him. "Stand back, you monster!" Alt. Doof jumped back, dropping the screwdriver.

A sigh of relief heaved past Platyborg's bill. That was Aj's voice.

Doofenshmirtz sounded annoyed. "I was just putting the last panel back on. What're you trying to do, scare him?"

AJ was already setting him free, and checking him over for damage.

Doofenshmirtz kept on. "For the record, I found him beat up. I was just fixing him."

AJ snapped. "And about to hook him back up to your stupid mind control machine!"

They all followed her accusing gaze to the large inator beside the table.

Doofenshmirtz went silent at that. "Well…"

Once again, her full attention turned to Platyborg. "You okay, Puddin'?"

He still hurt, but he seemed to be able to move now. He nodded, and stood up carefully, then wrapped his arms around her neck. "Aw, Perry, don't you ever scare me like that again!"

Doofenshmirtz waved from the corner. "Ys know… I'm the one who just saved your ungrateful little metal posterior. _Again_!"

Platyborg shrugged.

Doofenshmirtz marched away, muttering, "Stupid platypus never thanked _me _for anything."

**To be continued…**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Good luck with your tests tomorrow Natty Mc!**

**Thanks for reading everyone!  
><strong>


	31. What are Enemies For?

**What are Enemies For?**

Alt, Doofenshmirtz pouted in the corner, while AJ insisted on finishing the rest of Platyborg's repairs herself. While she was at it, she checked him over very carefully.

To her amazement, Alt. Doof hasn't done anything evil to him. The mind wiping machine wasn't even plugged in.

She hugged Platyborg again, careful of his injuries, then marched over to Doofenshmirtz, and crossed her arms. "Alright, what's going on?"

He shot a glare at the platypus, then motioned her further away. "Look, I'm not exactly a truthful guy, by any means… but since I don't want any OWCA doctors taking him apart, and messing with his wiring, I'll give it to you straight. He'd been hit, several times with some kind of laser, and he was so beat and bent up, I didn't have _time_ to do anything evil to him. And for the record… I only had him strapped down because I was afraid he'd wake up and hurt himself. But that's between you and me."

Her face softened, as she glanced back at the platypus, who was testing his arms and legs. The little guy was obviously still sore, and he couldn't keep it off his face, which was bruised and scraped. "Then I… I… owe you one."

He looked surprised. "Huh?"

"You saved his life. That means I owe you one. Of course, the fact that you were _also_ planning on brainwashing him… _again_…"

He shrugged. 'Hey, you can't blame a guy for trying! He's a very obedient little slave."

She smirked. "You miss him."

He took a step back, weaving his hands. "Wha… no! No, I most absolutely do not!"

Her eyes widened. "_And_ you feel bad for treating him like dirt! I can't believe this! What, did you expect him to miss working for a guy who took everything from him, ordered him around, and never showed a single ounce of gratitude?"

Alt. Doof looked so uncomfortable, she almost, almost, felt kind of bad for him. "Well, when he was working for me… I kind of missed having him as my nemesis… you know? It never occurred that we could… you know… work together."

She shrugged. "It's never to late."

A smile shot across his face. "You mean you'll let me brainwash him?"

She took a threatening step towards him, backing him to a wall. "Just get that thought out of your head. You ever _think_ about trying that again, and you don't even _know_ how many people are going to come after you."

He gulped. "Point taken. I'm assuming you were going somewhere else with this?"

She nodded. "Help us bring in the Regurgitator."

With that, she turned, and walked back to Platyborg, who was still grinning at the sight of his intimidated captor cowering in the corner. He reached for a high five.

_I don't know what you said to him… but it sure worked!_

She tried to scoop him up to carry him, but he wasn't about to let her. Not with that limp. He shook his head, and climbed down. Then led the way out the door. First one, then a second, reluctant Doof followed them outside.

…..

**Resistance Headquarters **

Calm, oblivious, happy, Phineas, was yelling. "Why isn't he here? Why didn't you mention anything about him staying behind before! How could he be missing again? We never even got him back from last time!"

Candace was trying to calm him down. "I know, and I'm sorry. AJ's looking for him…"

"That's not good enough! We all need to be out there looking for him!"

At that moment the doors opened, and AJ limped in, followed closely by the pet in question. Relieved smiles and cheers filled the room as the boys rushed to Platyborg, wrapping him in a hug.

He winced slightly at the impact, but from the way he hugged them back, he'd missed them just as much as they'd missed him.

Perry walked over, beaming, and gave him a salute. _Welcome back._

He couldn't return it, his arms were busy, but he smiled back. _Thanks. You know… for everything. _

Phineas pressed his face into his shoulder. "We missed you so much boy! Thanks for bringing him back, AJ."

Ferb blinked, then stood up, and hugged her. "We missed you as well."

Phineas couldn't let go of hi pet, but he nodded from the floor. "Yeah, we've been really worried about you too, AJ."

She smiled. "Thanks guys. You know, whoever came up with those enormous construction machines didn't just free us, they helped save my life. I think I know who to thank for those."

Phineas and Ferb grinned at each other. "Glad we could help!"

Candace gave Platyborg a hug, then pulled AJ aside. "How is he? Where'd you find him? Does he need medical attention?"

AJ held her hands up. "Whoa, take it easy! Platyborg's okay. I'll fill you in later, right now, there are two evil scientists outside. We couldn't risk showing our Doofenshmirtz where the hideout is, so we'll have to go to him."

"Doofenshmirtz?"

…..

**The Soda Shop**

It was nearly three hours later. Platyborg, Candace, Perry, AJ, Doof, and Doofenshmirtz were still trying to figure out how to flush out the Regurgitator.

Out of ideas, AJ sat back, and watched the platypi chatter back and forth. It was amazing how different they were.

Oh they were the same in a lot of ways, but Platyborg had been though something that, hopefully, Perry would never have to. Loss of family, constant threats, being turned into an evil robot…

She sighed. It still kind of hurt to see the other Perry. She wouldn't trade Platyborg for anybody, but the fact was, Platyborg had once been Perry. The changes had made him stronger, but they had hardened him as well.

In more ways than one.

As if he sensed her sad thoughts, he glanced over at her. She made sure she had a warm smile for him. When he smiled back, it made all the difference in the world. As long as he was alive, and happy, who cared what changes he'd gone through?

All of a sudden, she tried to imagine what her own counterpart was going through right now. "Perry?"

Naturally they both turned. "Have you checked in with your dimension lately? Your family's probably worried."

He checked his watch, looking a little guilty, and gave her a grateful chatter. He hopped down from the table, and went to call the 1st dimension.

**To be continued….**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, we're back to filler material, and I've ended it where I ran out of ideas for the moment, so it's not very exciting. I suppose I could think of a gripping cliff hanger, but I'll be nice this time. **

**Hey, I've received 123 reviews for this story! That's more than all my others combined! Thank you so much guys!  
><strong>

**Thanks for reading!**


	32. The Search

**The Search**

A worried, very tired looking Annie from the first dimension answered with a relieved smile. "Hey Perry. How are you?"

He shrugged, and shook his head.

She scolded, "It most certainly _is _important! You're kids are fine. Worried, and I'm having trouble keeping them from looking for you, but as long as them building an army of search robots is normal, they're fine. Now then, you're sure you're okay?"

He nodded, staring hard at the phone.

"Perry, you know full well that I'd report in if there was in trouble from the second dimension. Everything's been really calm here. No sign of trouble at all. We really miss you."

Perry nodded wryly. He _would_ end up in the second dimension, with Doof, instead of back home with his boys. Oh well. At least his boys were back home, and not about to be fed to some Goozim.

"I'll report in if there's any change, and you keep reporting in when you can, change or no. I've been worried sick about you, and I'm afraid the boys can sense that."

Perry nodded in agreement, gave her a reassuring chatter, and closed out the connection. When he got back to the table, Platyborg had left. He looked around for the only person he could talk to, then decided he must have gone back to his lair. Most likely because the Doof's were locked in an argument about who's idea the self destruct button had really been.

He sighed, and decided to try to find something to eat….

…

**Platyborg's Lair**

"… and that's how this particular model differentiates from the other ones we looked at. Moving on to our next weapon, we see the a standard ray gun. Now the first thing to keep in mind…"

A quiet chatter from the back of the room stopped him. "Oh. Excuse me for a minute. Ferb will pick up where I left off."

As Phineas stepped off of the platform he was giving the speech from, Ferb stepped up with a pointer. Instead of talking, he zoomed in on the picture of the ray gun, and tapped the trigger with the tip of his pointer, then motioned to the ray being fired as a result.

The group of resistance members quickly jotted this down in their notes.

Phineas followed Platyborg into the hall. "What is it boy? Is something wrong Do you need us to build you something? Is everything working alright?"

When Platyborg nodded, he patted him on the head. "We sure are glad to have you back. For a while there, we were worried that we were never going to see you again… and you know, that's a whole lot worse, than, even what Doofenshmirtz did to you."

Platyborg blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected such a solemn speech from Phineas. Anyone else in this dimension, but not Phineas. Not now, when they needed someone to be positive so badly.

He put a hand on his shoulder, and chattered, pressing something small and hard into his owner's hand.

He blinked down at it in shock. "Hey, my knife! I never thought I'd see it again! Thanks Pal!"

Platyborg smiled, giving him a salute.

"You're right, boy. We've got this!"

…...

**The Resistance Snack Room**

"Not exactly the place you'd expect to find a vending machine, eh Perry the platypus?"

Perry shrugged, then took another bite of the granola bar he'd gotten from the machine.

Doof had followed him once his alternate counterpart had refused to say another word. He stood in the doorway, staring back at the silent semi-aquatic mammal.

"Perry the platypus… there was something I was trying to say earlier."

Perry nodded, swallowing the granola.

Doof took a deep breath. "You see, the… um… the fact of the matter is…"

At that moment Candace sauntered in slipped a quarter into the vending machine.

Doof sighed. "You know, those things are going to take over the world someday. You guys should be fighting _them_."

Perry and Candace both blinked at him.

_That's not what you were going to say._

"Weirdo."

Having delivered her opinion to Doof, she turned to Perry. "We're going to need to get those camera's up and running again. You and P-Borg going to be up for it?"

Perry nodded, already knowing what his counterpart would say.

…...

**The City**

Platyborg flew over the city, checking all the aerial cameras, while AJ drove Perry around to check the ones on the streets.

It was decidedly awkward, but it was the most Candace dared let AJ do, since her leg was still healing.

She glanced over at the platypus, so like her own Perry had been, and frowned at the fatigue and sadness on his face.

"How's your family doing?"

He looked over at her in surprise, then nodded.

She blinked, obviously unsure how to take that. Understandable, since reading her Perry wouldn't guarantee that she'd know what he meant. He gave a thumbs up, and that seemed to do the trick.

"They're okay then?"

This time, the nod worked just fine.

He got out to check the next camera on the list. Like all the others he'd checked so far, it had been disintegrated. He replaced it, then hopped back into the car.

He pointed up towards Platyborg, and chattered questioningly.

She misread him. "He seems to be taking it okay. It still bothers him, but he's accepted it."

He sighed. He knew that much. He could talk to Platyborg. He pointed at her, repeating his chatter.

She turned her head, first to look at him, then back to the road. "How am _I_ taking it?"

He nodded.

"Oh. Well… I feel terrible that it happened… I'd do anything to undo it, if it were possible… but I'm just so grateful that he's alive, and back to thinking for himself, instead of Doofenshmirtz. It just doesn't matter to me."

Perry nodded again. Knowing his Annie, he'd figured that was how she felt. In fact, knowing his Annie, that was probably the biggest reason AJ wasn't as gentle in this dimension, to everyone but Platyborg of course.

"You probably don't get to spend much time with your family, huh?"

He felt his eyes get a little bigger as he shook his head.

"I'm sorry you got pulled into this mess. According to Candace, you're the only one from your dimension who remembers coming here. That can't be easy."

He nodded, a smirk coming over his face as he realized what was going on. _She realizes that Doof's the only other one here from my dimension. _

He smiled gratefully as just a little of the homesickness he'd been feeling let up.

All of a sudden, the radio buzzed, and a chatter came over the radio. _There's absolutely nothing out here but fried cameras._

AJ smiled. "Bored, Puddin'?"

Perry's chatter sounded very much like a chuckle. _You too Platyborg_?

The cybernetic platypus sounded surprised. _She calls you that in your dimesnion? Why? Puddin', really doesn't make a lot of sense. Aqua marine pudding? Really?_

_I know, right?_

AJ tapped the steering wheel. "Why do I get the impression that I'm being mocked?"

Perry grinned sheepishly, and Platyborg's chatter was apologetic, but they both knew she wasn't upset.

_Hold on. My scanners are picking up something._

Perry sat up straight, instantly on the alert while AJ slowed the car down even more, sweeping the area with her eyes. "Whatcha' got?"

_That was __not__ there yesterday!_

Perry blinked, trying to see what he meant. _What wasn't?_

_There some sort of a cloaking device… AJ! You're driving right into it!_

Platyborg's chatter was cut off as the front of the car slammed into what appeared to be thin air.

AJ and Perry were lurched forward into their locking seatbelts, and the air bags exploded in their faces.

The radio sputtered. _AJ! Perry! Are you two alright?_

**To be continued…**

**A/N: I'm back! Well, actually, I didn't leave this time. I've still been following peoples stories, just not writing anything. Sorry for the wait!**

** I've finally plunged back into the story, thanks to requests to do so from NattyMc and Pricat. I appreciate you guys!  
><strong>

**The good news is, though this is a cliff hanger, I already have the next chapter written out, and I'll be ready to post that after I edit it a bit, so I'm planning to post that over the weekend. And the better news, is that after that, I've only got a few loose ends for this story, and then I'll be done! Phew!  
><strong>

**Thanks for reading  
><strong>


	33. Time Stream

**The Time Stream**

The cloaking device sputtered, revealing a building behind it for a few seconds, before hiding it again.

Platyborg barely noticed as he swooped down to the car. AJ was rubbing her head, and didn't seem much worse for the wear.

Perry, on the other hand, had hit the airbag wrong, and was unconscious. Platyborg hurried to the other side, and unbuckled him.

AJ carefully laid him down in the seat, and checked him over. He moaned, giving a pathetic little chatter, then blinked up at them.

AJ spoke softly. "Sorry about that."

Plattyborg nodded, chattering. _I should have given her more of a heads up._

Perry sat up, rubbing his head. _It was an invisible building in the middle of the road. It's kind of understandable that she hit it._

AJ stepped out, staring at the screen that kept flashing, revealing the building for spurts of time. "I don't remember this building at all."

Platyborg and Perry got out of the car as well. Platyborg shook his head, indicating that he didn't remember it either. He went over to inspect the force field while AJ called reported back to base camp.

When he touched it, a door opened. He chattered, to get AJ's attention. "Perry just found a way in. I'll leave the communication link on, and we'll stay in touch."

Only static replied, so they weren't sure if base camp was even getting this.

Platyborg noted with relief that AJ's hadn't been injured in the crash, and that Perry looked fine now. She'd been going pretty slow, so the airbags had probably done the most damage. The car would need a new headlight though.

They walked through the building, and found it to be empty. It was tall, and thin. The walls were made of some sort of see-through substance, and the floors were tiled in grey and white. An elevator at the back of the room, with a shaft leading to the ceiling, was the only thing in sight. The trio cautiously got into the elevator, and pressed the up button.

It rode very smoothly, and when the doors opened again, they were in a room very much like their strange prison had been. Thick carpet on the floor, chandelier on the ceiling, but the machine hooked to the computer in the middle of the room was different.

It was the time machine from the museum.

The three of them looked at each other uneasily, and AJ went to the curtain, and pulled it back. Instead of being bricked over, there was just clear window.

They had been so intent on figuring our why the building had suddenly appeared in the road, none of them had noticed that it had been the road that was different. And the town of Danville.

Most of it had been reduced to rubble.

AJ's face was white as she started pacing the room. "What could have happened? We were just driving through the streets, and now…

Perry touched the time machine uneasily. He remembered hearing his kids talking about it. The fact that they had gone back in time had nearly given him a heart attack, but he was fairly sure that they had said they rode in it. Whatever had whisked them to this… time? Place?… it wasn't the machine.

AJ was studying the computer controls. "It looks like someone used this to go back, and somehow change the past." She swallowed. "We haven't moved, guys. This is Danville. Whoever went back, changed everything."

Before anyone else could say another word, Platyborg dashed back to the elevator. Ignoring both Perry and AJ's cries, he fled the building, full speed, and rocketed home.

It wasn't far… they'd only been gone for a few minutes, but the change was devastating.

The house was now just a burnt out basement. There was some sort of electric fence surrounding it, and inside, huddled in a group, was his family.

With a cry of despair he tried to fly over, but something slammed into his side, sending him rolling across the weed ridden yard.

He glared up at Perry, who was panting heavily. In a second, AJ was there too, holding him down. After a brief struggle, it all sank in, and he turned to bury his face in AJ's shoulder.

"It's going to be okay. It doesn't look like we've been affected by this time distortion, so we should head back, and try to figure this all out."

He nodded, trying desperately to figure out what was going on. All of a sudden, Perry knocked both of them back, into what was left of a hedge.

Platyborg gave an annoy chatter as he peered out, trying to see what Perry had been hiding from. His eye widened as he saw a weary, downtrodden Perry the platypus walked towards the house. He managed to slip in under the fence.

Platyborg frowned, exchanging a glance with Perry. Why wasn't he a cyborg?

Pushing the question aside for the moment, they hurried back to the building with the time machine, this time taking note that most of the 'Emperor Doofenshmirtz Obey Me' statues where still intact, and slipped inside.

This time, when they entered the upstairs room, a portal opened.

AJ studied the screen. "This must lead to the point where the time line split. Someone must have changed a specific incident, that led to the two futures. Ours, and… this one. I can't tell for sure, but it looks like only one person can go through."

Platyborg nodded, taking a deep breath. That would have to be him. Perry wouldn't know what to look for, and he was better equipped than both of them. Without a moments more hesitation, he plunged through the portal.

He instantly found himself in a dark room, filled with strange devices. As part of him recognized them, his consciousness became aware that there was a man hunched in the corner.

All of a sudden, he recognized a voice in the next room.

"So just lie down, right now, or I'll track down everyone you ever cared about, and destroy them."

He quietly peered past an inator, and watched as the younger Platypus hung his head in defeat, and climbed onto the examination table to be instantly strapped in, bill quivering.

The man in the corner suddenly moved, getting up to creep into the other room.

Platyborg's heart pounded. This was the time distortion… it all made sense now. Doofenshmirtz didn't get his general, and probably went after Perry's family specifically for revenge. That's why they'd been in that fence, dirty and miserable.

He flew into action, tackling the man much like Perry had tackled him moments before. He wasn't all that surprised to discover that it was an older Regurgitator.

In the other room, Doofenshmirtz's cackling was preventing him from hearing the struggle behind him. Platyborg quickly knocked out the man, and turned to look into the room.

He found himself staring back at him, first with horror, then with hope.

Platyborg took a step back, and firmly shook his head. He simply couldn't do what he'd just kept the Regurgitator from doing.

The hope died, and gave way back to despair, but all Platyborg could do was offer an encouraging smile, and turn to drag the Regurgitator back through the portal.

He shuddered as the equipment started up, old fears pulsing through him.

At least he knew it all ended okay.

As he pushed the man through the portal, he felt comfort in knowing he'd made the right decision to come.

AJ never would have been able to leave him there.

He stepped through, and the waver of the portal drowned out the sudden, sharp yelp of pain behind him.

He didn't realize how hard it had been, until AJ immediately gathered him into her arms. "Oh Puddin'."

He blinked, wondering why she was crying.

Perry put a hand on his shoulder. _We saw the whole thing, like a video on the screen. You made the right choice. I know it was hard…_

Platyborg shook his head. _I saw what happens if we change the past Perry. I's never do that to my family, just to keep from getting changed into a cyborg, and you know it. _

He looked around, and gave a sigh of relief. It was all back to normal. They were outside, by the car, in the middle of the road, with no wavering building. Oddly enough, the future Regurgitator had disappeared as well, probably sent back to his own time.

Platyborg just hoped that didn't mean he could try it again, but since nothing changed, he figured that it hadn't.

Well, one thing had changed…

He now had a foggy memory of a cybernetic platypus almost saving him from Doofenshmirtz's clutches.

**To be continued…**

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry everyone! This chapter got completely rewritten. It's still the same effect, but I added a bunch to it. Let me know what you think! I'm open to suggestions, if anyone has any ideas how to make this better!  
><strong>

**Pricat gave me the idea to give Platyborg a chance to change his past. Unfortunately, it didn't work out, but I still had fun playing with the time streams! Thanks!  
><strong>

**Thanks for reading!**


	34. Plotting a Trap

**Plotting a Trap**

It had been difficult for Platyborg to relive the day of his defeat, but apparently it had been even harder for AJ to watch.

He pulled back a little, with a chatter to let her know he was fine with how things were.

With a sniffle, she nodded, wiping the tears away. "You're right. We can't change what happened. Even with a time machine. All we can change, is our future. That's just how things were meant to be."

She patted him. "I know I'm always saying that I'd change the past if I could, but I hope you know that I wouldn't change you for anything, and I know your kids feel the exact same way." She kissed the top of his head.

He smiled. _I'm__ not the one who needs convincing!_ He'd made his choice… twice now, and considering how things could have turned out, he was fine with the way things were.

He glanced over, and caught Perry's smirk. _Does your AJ get this upset?_

He shrugged. _Probably more upset. She's never really had a reason too._

Platyborg rolled his eye. _Right. I forgot that you guys lived in the cushy dimension. _

Perry grinned good naturedly at the teasing. His alternate self had earned the right to a few jabs.

AJ sighed. "Again, I'm getting the impression that you guys are talking about me."

At that moment, her watch beeped. She stood up and started explaining why they'd disappeared.

…...

**Back at Temporary Headquarters**

"An alternate future? What happened? Wait… on second thought, I don't want to know as long as the problem's taken care of. Meet us back here ASAP, Doofenshmirtz has come up with another hair-brained idea that I want to run by you three."

As she closed out the connection, Candace shook her head. A smidgen of curiosity remained, but for the most part, she honestly didn't want to know what had made the older girl's eyes that red. Something had made her cry, and there were only a handful of things that made AJ do that. All of them involved the Flynn-Fletcher family and their pet. The future had probably…

"No, no, no! Focus!"

An innocent voice piped up from behind her. "Focus on what, sis?"

She forced a reassuring smile. "On coming up with our next move, Phineas."

"Oh. Everyone's alright then? I've been a little worried, because Per- um, Platyborg hasn't checked in for a while."

She tapped the intercom she'd been talking into. "AJ just did. They ran into some complications, but everyone's okay."

Phineas beamed. "Okay then!" He started to leave, then slapped his forehead. "Oh! Ferb said to tell you that he thinks he's figured out how to make Doofenshmirtz's plan work."

…...

**Just Outside**

AJ scrambled out of the car, and held the door open for Perry. "You're 100% sure you're okay?"

Perry nodded with a wry smile. That was the fourth time she'd asked him.

Platyborg landed beside them, looking happier Perry had ever seen him. He gave an excited chatter, an raced in ahead of them. _Come on, guys! Let's finish this!_

AJ followed him, but the loud, happy, all too familiar cries of, "There you are, Perry!" gave the platypus another dose of homesickness. He pressed his watch, signaling Annie, but there was no answer. He frowned, knowing she would if she could, then shrugged. She was probably with the boys.

With a sudden sense of unease, he followed the other two into the building.

…..

"Alright people I never thought I'd say this, but I'm just going to go ahead, and turn this meeting over to Doofenhsmirtz."

There were a few mumbled complaints to that, but for the most part, everyone realized that if Candace was doing this, it must be necessary.

Alt. Doofenshmirtz stood up beside her. "Ahem. So I've been talking to your little, leader, person here, and it seems to me that you've all been going about this the wrong way. Don't find him, make him come find you. Set a trap."

From the back of the room, Doof nodded, oblivious to the platypus sighing beside him.

"All you need is some bait, and I do believe I've figured out how to make this work."

…..

Those stupid resistance members. Did they really think they'd beaten him? Why, as soon as he got the plans for his portal back, he'd go take over the other dimension, and come back to this one with reinforcements

He'd show them. He'd show all of them! But he'd start with both of those platypuses…

…

Almost everyone headed out to this dimensions DEI.

Three people went back to headquarters. Platyborg was helping Phineas and Ferb with their end of the plan, since they didn't dare let Alt. Doof see them.

Phineas hadn't been happy about being left behind, until he heard that he'd get some time with his pet. Since that moment, he hadn't stopped talking. "It really is great having you back, well, again I guess. You're the best pet ever, you know that right? We've been so worried about you, but you know, you almost look happy! That's a good change."

Platyborg smiled. He didn't mind Phineas' rambling one little bit. It was sort of funny, actually, how much he liked listening to Phineas, or AJ go on, and on, and on… Now Doofenshmirtz was another thing entirely. He couldn't stand listening to _him_ rambling. Must have been all those years as a general.

All this time, Ferb stayed quiet. He seemed to be enjoying himself too, but then, Ferb usually did. Platyborg gave him a thumbs up, and the boy responded in kind, a slight hint of a smile on his face.

Platyborg understood him better than most people did. Neither of them said much; that people could understand anyway.

He sighed happily as he helped the boys solder a piece of metal in place. It was so good to be back. As soon as this ordeal was over, he was going to make sure they got a chance to try an invention that didn't involve takeovers, and he was going to help them do it.

…

**Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated**

"Down, down, down, down, down…"

AJ cast a worried glance over at Candace, who was busy pounding a nail into the ground, most likely wishing it were the Regurgitator instead.

She sighed. The poor girl had just gotten her chance to be a kid again, and it had been snatched away.

Someone tapped her shoulder, and she turned to see Doof standing there, staring at his feet.

"Um…"

She sighed, in annoyance this time. "What is it?"

He cleared his throat. "I was just wondering, how long you thought this was going to take… I've been gone a while, and well, Perry the platypus isn't the _only_ one who would have noticed I was gone by now. Vanessa might have needed me by now… and" he spat out the word, "_Norm_ needs more oil. Then there's the whole evil scheme thing… and I'm sure _someone_ misses Perry the platypus…"

She shrugged. "I really don't know. I can say that we appreciate your help, and that we'll get you back as soon as we can."

He sighed. "I know. It's just that, well, we _found_ you, and your Perry the Platyborg. Isn't that why we were here?"

She nodded. "At first. But we really can't spare the power to send you back right now. I'm sorry."

A firestorm girl came running up. "We just spotted him! He's on his way here! We've got to move now!"

Doof gulped. "But, we're not ready yet!"

Alt. Doof crossed his arms. "We're going to have to be."

**To be continued…**

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><p><strong>AN: Well, I'm back! Does anyone remember this story? If you do, you must have an awesome memory! Heh heh… Sorry about the really long wait, and then the really boring update. I can't seem to wrap my mind around the end. Any ideas?**

**Thanks for reading! You guys are still awesome! **


	35. A Glitch in the System

**A/N: Good news guys! NattyMc wrote a scene for this chapter! I've divided her part with *'s, so that she gets full credit for her awesomeness! Thanks again NattyMc! It fit perfectly!**

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><p><strong>A Glitch in the System<strong>

AJ pressed a button on her watch. "Perry, the Regurgitator's ahead of schedule. We need you down here now."

He gave an answering chatter, and was on the move. She could hear him chatter to the boys even before the communication was cut off.

The tension in the air was thick as everyone scurried to complete their part of the plan in time. Nothing had to be perfect… but it would sure help.

She took a deep breath, and mentally checked of everything on her end of things, pausing to shoot an annoyed look at Doofenshmirtz.

The evil scientist was pouting again, and again, she had to remind herself what he'd done to all of them, just to keep herself from feeling sorry for him. She scowled in disgust at herself. People had always called her soft, and she'd never minded it before. But what kind of person could feel sorry for Doofenshmirtz?

Before she could reason it out anymore, Platyborg showed up, chattering anxiously. She had to smile at the glimmer of excitement that lit his eyes. She couldn't remember the last time he'd been so enthusiastic about a mission. It immediately cheered her up.

"We'd better get set up, Doofenshmirtz. He could be here any minute now."

For a second, she though he didn't hear her. Then he looked up, and nodded. Platyborg lead the way through the door, away from the rest of the group.

*****They continued to walk down the long hallway, when Doofenshmirtz started to trail behind by a few feet. AJ called from over her shoulder to the scientist.

"I bet if we had that toy train of yours you'd go faster." She chuckled, but instead of a witty reply or threat she heard a pained groan "Doofenshmirtz?" AJ turned around to see the dictator on his knees and clutching his side.

Platyborg and AJ's eyes widened and they ran towards him.

"Are you alright?" When she didn't get an answer she removed his hand from his side; he resisted at first but gave up and let her pull his hand away.

AJ gasped at the sight of blood.

"I'm fine…it's just…a scratch" Doofenshmirtz breathed.

"Doofenshmirtz that's not a scratch! That's a bullet hole!"

Platyborg glared at him. _How long did you think you were gonna hide this?_

"I'm fine"

"You're not fine!" AJ argued.

The cyborg applied pressure to the wound.

"I'm fine! And will you get your hands off of me?"

"Don't yell at him! He's helping! We have to go back"*****

Platyborg watched the two of them play verbal ping-pong, not sure what to do about the emotions that sprang up from nowhere. _…die from blood loss…Doofenshmirtz?_

The man was a crazy dictator, that had threatened his family, and turned him into a semi-mechanic egg laying mammal. It must be the years he'd spent programmed to protect and obey him that made him feel worried…

Doofenshmirtz was shaking his head.

*****"Just go on without me"

"We can't do that! You made up the plan and we can't do it without you! What were you gonna do? Hide this from us until you die from blood loss? What would we do then?"

"I don't know! You could probably get along just fine without me! You two are trained agents, what am I? You could probably take down the Regurgitator yourselves, since you two are so attached anyways"

"Is that it? You're jealous?"

"I don't know what I am anymore! I'm not a dictator, not an agent, I haven't seen my daughter in who knows how long, I'm BARELY a scientist and to top it off I don't even know if I can be your nemesis anymore!" He turned to Platyborg "I just feel guilty…about everything but more importantly for what I did to you, I'm sorry Perry the Platypus"

Platyborg stared at Doofenshmirtz in shock.

He was sorry?*****

….

**Flynn-Fletcher House**

Phineas quietly made his way toward the door, knife in hand.

Ferb was standing in front of it, with his arms crossed.

It only took Phineas a minute to remember what had happened last time, and how close he'd come to loosing his brother. "But, Ferb, they might need us!"

Ferb shook his head. "They want us here, where it's safe. We should finish these upgrades, or they won't be here when Perry needs them."

Phineas sighed. He had a bad feeling about the whole plan. But maybe Ferb was right…

…

**Back at D.E.I.**

"Everyone, listen up. We're calling this whole thing off. We need someone to distract the Regurgitator, ASAP. Preferably someone who can do that without compromising themselves." AJ's voice was commanding as she raced back through the room.

Candace motioned for two resistance members and Buford to take care of it, the followed her. "What happened?"

"Doofenshmirtz is down. We've got to get him help, or he wont make it." She searched through piled of junk for something she could use as a stretcher.

Candace crossed her arms. "Look, I'm as much for 'no man gets left behind as the next guy… but don't you think this is taking it too far? This is _Doofenshmirtz _we're talking about here… if he's taken a hit… well, too bad for him. Won't that solve a lot of problems down the road?"

AJ didn't stop searching, but she spared a glance at the younger girl. "We can't think like that. It's wrong, and you know it. You want to turn into someone like Doofensmirtz? Start playing by _his_ kind of rules."

Candace's only answer was to help her with the cart she found.

…

**Down the hall**

_Hurry up, AJ! _Platyborg fought to keep the pressure on the wound, even though Alt. Doof kept pulling away. _I'm trying to help you, you idiot! Hold still!_

Doofenshmirtz glared at him weakly. "What did I tell you about that tone?"

Platyborg rolled his eye. _Hate to tell you, but you're not at all intimidating at the moment._

He still couldn't believe what the man had said. Was he actually sorry? And what was he sorry for? For beating him? For ruining his life? That didn't sound like Doofenshmirtz.

The man groaned, and closed his eye.

_Don't give up yet, you baby! _Somehow, it felt like a member of the family was laying there in front of him. Not close family, like Candace, Phineas, Ferb, and AJ. He was like… an obnoxious uncle that annoyed you to death and got you into trouble, but you still liked.

"Never should have treated you like that."

Platyborg frowned.

"Always yelled at you. Tortured you with upgrades all the time. You were a good general. Loyal. Obedient. I treated you like dirt, just because I missed fighting you."

Doofenshmirtz finished with a tired sigh. "Never should have turned you into a cyborg."

Platyborg wasn't sure how to respond, so he just sat there, pressing his hand into the man's side, feeling helpless. He'd served him for five years… he hadn't wanted to, or chosen to… but he had…

He just wished he knew how to help him now…

**To be continued…**

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks again for reviewing guys! You are all awesome! :D**

**I reluctantly take credit for the new story cover. It's Platyborg with his new modifications (sort of) In my own defense, my only art program on my computer is Paint* and I'm too cheep to buy a better one. ; ) **

**And again, thanks for the scene Natty! I loved reading it, and it was so much fun to work into the story!  
><strong>

**Thanks for reading!  
><strong>


	36. Regrets

**Regrets**

Doofenshmirtz's groaned as the pain pulsed through him. It was getting worse every second.

He sighed. Maybe it served him right… abandoning everyone in the building as it was about to explode like that. He hadn't seen who had fired the shot as he'd raced through the halls…

The cool, smooth tiles felt good underneath him. He rested his head against the floor, wishing he'd thought this through more. He was an evil dictator. He didn't need help. Couldn't afford to be weak.

He… hadn't realized that he'd lost this much blood. His strength had sapped, and he was too tired to keep his eye open.

Beside him, Platyborg gave an anxious whimper.

Stupid platypus never worried about _him_ like that. Wait… he'd already used that one. And on second thought… he squinted his eye open to peer down. Well what do you know?

The stupid platypus _was_ worried about him.

He scowled. "If you think you're going to make me feel worse, you can forget it, Perry the platypus." He took a shuttering breath, determined to keep _some_ of his dignity. "I said I was sorry, and that's all you're going to get."

He closed his eye again, but he couldn't shut out the feeling of the little hands pressing into his side, trying to stop the bleeding. Great… now he _did_ feel worse.

"Sorry that took so long." AJ's voice followed behind the sound of wheels.

He let himself be pulled to his feet, and onto something cold and uncomfortable, that wasn't nearly long enough. "Am I laying on a salad cart?"

At least AJ had the heart to sound apologetic. "Sorry."

Candace, however, sounded like she was rolling her eyes. "You're lucky we found anything in this dump."

He was wheeled down a couple halls, to what he assumed to be his lab. He groaned, knowing that his operation table was platypus length. Luckily, the cart was about as high, and they pushed the two of them together, making it long enough.

He whined, "This thing hurts."

Somewhere below him he heard the platypus sigh in agreement. "You already got your apology, Platyborg."

Candace sounded angry now. "Where do you keep your pain medicine?"

He shook his head. "Don't have any. Never use it." Of course, that was only because he never thought _he'd_ be the one needed it…

AJ was the most calm person in the room. "Perry, go get a first aid kit from the headquarters. We're going to need it."

The platypus gave a hesitant chatter. Doofenshmirtz barked. "Well what are you waiting for?"

That sent him scurrying.

He spoke to anyone that might be listening. "I do have bandages. Second cupboard, over there somewhere."

He could hear a door open, and then someone started unwrapping the bandages he'd tried to w wound. "Which one are you?"

She didn't bother with wit. "AJ. Candace went to help the others."

He groaned. "That's too tight! Do you even know what you're doing?"

"Yes, and it has to be tight.." She sounded focused.

He sighed. "How bad is it?"

There was actually a bit of sympathy there. "You're going to hurt for a while. But it'll heal."

He forced a chuckle. "Too mean to die, huh?"

"Well that sure doesn't factor in much."

He coughed. "I'm trying to make a joke here. Lighten up…. You know, you used to talk a whole lot more."

"This might sting…"

She touched something cold and wet to his side, and he gritted his teeth. "You weren't kidding."

She was dabbing at the wound now, and as much as it hurt, she was being gentle. It was no wonder the platypus liked her better. Despite his best efforts, his mind wandered back…

'Platyborg, go patrol. And when you're done, clean the toilets.'

'Platyborg! Why is the resistance winning? Get into that cell, and stay there until you're ready to win!'

'Platyborg! I said NO decaf! Why did I even build you, you worthless refurbished trashcan!'

'Hey, Platyborg! I'm bored. Get over here so I can mess with your wiring.'

And those weren't even the meanest things he'd said to the cyborg.

"Why is Platyborg even helping?" Whoa, he just said that out loud?

He could almost hear her blink. "Because that's who he is. There's a reason you needed the pain modifiers to keep him on your side, and it had nothing to do with you. It was what you were doing."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… Perry the platypus is good to the core… boring!"

He recognized the sound of the rockets as the platypus returned.

"Great! Thanks. Hold this."

He coughed again. "Took you long enough."

He could hear AJ unscrewing something. She warned, "This is probably going to sting."

This time, he gritted his teeth in advance, as she squirted something into his side.

"Ouch! What the heck was that? Are you trying to finish me off?"

"Disinfectant."

"Platyborg, you let her use that again, and next time I get _you _on this table, I'll…"

"You're not really in a position to be threatening anyone."

Finally, sarcasm! "For a second there, I thought this was going to be like one of those sappy tv shows I banned."

He could hear a chair push up by his other side, and the cyborg climbed into it. He chattered, but Doofenshmirtz couldn't make much out of it. He turned his head, and squinted his eye open. "What?"

Platyborg patiently repeated the chatter, pointing at the side that AJ was re-bandaging. She glanced over. "Yeah. What _did_ happen?"

He shrugged his left shoulder. "During the whole, evacuation thing. Right after I passed you in the hallway. Someone took a shot at me."

Playtborg chattered again.

"I don't _know_ who." Actually, at first, he'd thought it had been Platyborg. After all, If he'd been the platypus, he would have taken his revenge long ago. Instead, the little guy was standing on his tiptoes, anxiously watching his partner bandage the wound.

Doofenshmirtz felt nauseous. It had always irked him that his nemesis was so… he didn't want to use the word 'cute', but it was something like that. How do you take pride in fighting a cuddly little fur-ball? Not even the metal casing helped that much.

"I know you're the good guys and everything… but seriously…how the heck can you two help me, after what I did? Isn't that like… counter productive or something? Save the bad guys?"

AJ shrugged as she finished tying the bandage. "You need help. But don't think we won't go right back to punching you in the face the minute you're better."

"Oh come on, seriously?"

Platyborg smirked, and nodded.

AJ held out a hand, and he winced as she helped him sit up, letting his feet dangle.

He took the ibuprofen she offered. "Well, I may not capture you again and treat you like slime, or use robots to take over the city for a reign of terror, but I'll be back to my old tricks soon enough!"

A loud, theatric voice boomed behind them. "That is, if any of you get the chance!"

A rope shot out, and wrapped itself around AJ's arms, trapping her as it pulled her back.

Before Platyborg could react, the Reguritator stepped out, grabbed her in one arm, pointing a gun at her with the other.

"You know what you've done, platypus?"

Doofenshmirtz winced. They'd _all_ fought him. And they were all about to pay the price.

"I want that machine, and I want it now."

AJ squirmed. "It blew up!"

"Not that machine! The one that will take me to the other dimensions! I know you're working on it

Doofenshmirtz rolled his eye. "Of course you know. _That_ was our plan."

"What?"

Ignoring Platyborg's frantic hand signals to stop, he went on. "We _tricked_ you! We're _not_ building a machine! It was a _trap_!"

The Regurgitator started shaking, veins protruding on either side of his neck. "Then I don't need her, now do I?"

"Wait!" Doofenshmirtz held out the hand that wasn't clutching his side. "I haven't finished."

He could feel the platypus tense beside him. As long as that gun was pointed at AJ, there was nothing he could do.

It was the perfect setup.

"We don't have your portal, but I know who does. Cut me in on the plan, and I can get it for you."

**To be continued…**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Wow, Alt. Doof just got his own chapter! I never saw that happening! Hope you liked it!**

**Thanks for reading! : )  
><strong>


	37. Betrayal

**Betrayal**

As soon as the words were out of Alt. Doof's mouth, Platyborg gave an angry chatter. The girl was still trying to break free. "Doofenshmirtz!"

He shrugged, and got down from the table.

All of the concern for this man's welfare from just a few moments ago vanished as what he was saying really sunk in. _But I know who does… the boys! But he doesn't remember the boys…he must have heard someone talking about them._

He swallowed a wave of helplessness. All his skills, all the gadgets built into him, and he could do nothing to help free his friend from the Regurgitator's clutch.

The large man boomed. "Alright. Where is it?"

Alt. Doof stood there, holding his side. "I said I'd get it for you, and I will. But we're going to need to think this through a bit. First off, we're going to need both of them, so don't go getting all trigger happy over there."

Platyborg sighed with relief as the Regurgitator loosened his grip on AJ. He still didn't dare try anything, but she was safer for the moment. He shot a look at Doofenshmirtz. _What are you up to? _For whatever reason, he seemed to be helping them.

The Regurgitator asked, "What do we need them for?"

Alt. Doof turned to glare down at Platyborg. "Alright, rust bucket, give me those blueprints, or things are going to go bad for your friend."

And then he winked.

Platyborg look back at AJ. _What do I do?_ He wasn't even sure what Alt. Doof was asking for. He went to the computer, and pulled up a set of blueprints.

The Regurgitator smiled. "Good thinking, Doofenshmirtz. I like your style. Now we don't need them anymore."

"WAIT!"

All three of them stared at the panic on Alt. Doof's face. He fumbled for words. "We…need to… make sure he gave us the right prints! Yeah. The blueprints you idiot! It might be a trick. We need him alive, and if you shoot her, we wont be able to make him do anything."

The Regurgitator nodded reluctantly. "Alright. Help me tie them up."

Alt. Doof shrugged. "Come on you bucket of bolts. Let's get you strapped down."

Platyborg started to panic as Alt. Doof pushed him to the cufflinks. Once he was in those things, he really would be useless to protect his family…

Doofenshmirtz held the first one open, just expecting him to put his wrist in it.

He sighed, and surrendered.

The Regurgitator tied AJ next to him. He chattered.

She nodded. "I'm fine."

Alt. Doof taunted. 'And she will be, as long as you don't try anything."

The Regurgitator pointed. "I'll stand guard. You build that machine. And Doofenshmirtz?"

"Yeah?"

He pointed the gun at him. "Don't make mistakes."

The evil scientist tugged nervously at his collar.

….

**Outside of DEI**

Perry scanned the area again. No sign of the Regurgitator anywhere. With any luck, he wouldn't show up until they were ready for him.

From the sounds of things, Alt. Doof was going to be okay, so at least he had one less thing to worry about. Perry hated to see anyone hurt, but he was fairly calloused towards Doof's counterpart, because of everything he'd done… Perry still had nightmares about that Goozim pit, all of them ending with him holding his kids above lava… yeah… he didn't like Alt. Doof even a little.

He didn't want to see him dead, but as far as pain went… well, as Doof would say, he had an 'intense, burning indifference'.

His kids…

He pressed a button on his watch. _C'mon, Annie. Pick up! You must know how worried I am!_ Worrying seemed to come more and more naturally to him, but that just came from having a family that he cared about more than anything. A family that wasn't answering his calls… _What if…_

No. He couldn't go there. If he let himself think about it, he'd be no good to anyone.

_Just relax. As soon as we capture him, Doof and I can go home, and I'll find some way to talk Monogram into giving me a day off to spend with the kids. Somehow._

_There's probably nothing going on anyway…_

But he had a bad feeling all the same…

…

**Back at the Flynn-Fletcher House**

"I'm just not sure what we should do here. I sure wish that our counterparts in the first dimension hadn't had their minds wiped… we could sure use some of their help."

Ferb just blinked.

"Yeah, it's probably for the best."

There was a knock on the front door. Phineas leapt to his feet, and rushed over. "Hey diner bell."

He blinked in confusion at Buford. "Um, hi…"

"They told me to help over there, but I'm still resisting them."

"I see. Well, we're part of the resistance too, but you can help us if you want."

The bigger boy shrugged. "Okay." He reached beside him, and pulled a kid from the bushes. "I brought Doctor Nerd here too."

Phineas smiled. "Great! Come on in!"

As strange as it was, the work did seem to go faster with the unlikely help. And something about the boys felt right…

Phineas smiled at Ferb. Maybe they didn't to go to themselves for help after all.

**Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated**

How did he manage to build everything so fast? AJ struggled against her bonds, trying not to be too obvious. After all, the Regurgitator was still standing right there.

Beside her, her poor little partner didn't dare move. It was maddening. She knew Platyborg could beat him… if he was only given a chance…

Alt. Doof cleared his throat. "Hey, um… I've got to go grab a spare part from the other room. I'll be right back."

"Hurry it up. We don't have all day Doofenshmirtz."

He paused in the doorway. "You know, maybe I should take Platyborg with me. It will look less suspicious."

The Regurgitator shook his head. "I don't trust you that much. Go get the part."

AJ carefully kept her calm as the Reguritator turned his back on Doofenshmirtz, and the former dictator actually paused to give her an apologetic shrug.

The room fell silent once again.

She started to say something, but that only caused him to point the gun at her head again. "One word, and this little guy's going to have to protect someone else."

Platyborg shot her a pleading look, and she shut her mouth. This guy had capture down to a science.

They all stared at each other for a while. Finally the Regurgitator boomed. "Where is that idiot?"

The door opened. "You better not be talking about me."

The large man glowered at him. "You took that long to get a hammer?"

He shrugged. "The place is messy." He quickly ducked down behind the machine.

….

Platyborg watched him with growing suspicion. Doofenshmirtz was acting awfully funny. He seemed nervous. Doofenshmirtz hardly ever acted nervous.

And he was hunching over quite a bit… and his goatee looked funny.

But it wasn't until he shot an anxious glance over at the prisoners that Platyborg realized what was going on…

He was wearing an eye patch with a scar over it, but there was no scar….

He wasn't their Doof.

**To be continued….**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, as I stated a few chapter ago, we're coming down to the last few chapters! I really mean it this time! Any new ideas that pop into my head will just have to be stored away for the sequel. (Unless I can't resist!)**

**Thanks for reading! And special thanks to NattyMc, Pricat, and WordNerb 93 for reviewing faithfully! I really appreciate guys! :D  
><strong>


	38. Good and Evil VS Evil

**Good and Evil Vs. The Regurgitator**

Doof swallowed nervously as he tried to make odds and ends from where his counterpart had left off. He really didn't know how to make an other-dimension-inator… but apparently, he'd done it before.

AJ and Perry the Platyborg were still stuck fast, but at least the platypus had stopped staring at him. He didn't know how he'd seen through his disguise so fast… after all, he was only pretending to be himself… how hard could that be?

"Doofenshmirtz!"

"Yes?" He HATED that voice. And this guy was even more intimidating than the one who'd taken Perry the platypus away.

He tapped his foot. "How long is this going to take? This building is crawling with Resistance members…"

Doof cut him off, trying to sound as tough as his counterpart. "It shouldn't be much longer. I'm almost done with the self destruct button now."

"Self destruct bu… what are you installing one of those you idiot!"

He crossed his arms. "Hey, it's a very important part of ANY invention. Leave it alone."

….

**Flynn-Fletcher House**

Work was interrupted again, with another knock on the door.

Phineas hurried over to open it, hoping to hear that the war was over, and they could get back to cleaning up the city.

Instead, the Resistance's second in command was there. "Candace asked me to come see whatcha doin?"

Phineas rubbed the back of his neck… "We're almost done. How are things going over there?"

She sighed. "Pretty boring right now. Doofenshmirtz got himself shot, and they're taking a really long time to patch him up, even though he's apparently going to be fine."

"Oh. Hey, in that case, you want to stick around and help us out? It's not boring over here!"

Isabella blinked, and for the first time since he'd met her, her face looked more like a little girl's, and less like a drill sergeant's. It was a scientific fact that she was cute. He smiled, suddenly shy for some reason. "So, how about it?"

She hesitated for a second longer. "Well… I guess it wouldn't hurt… after all, you are trying to finish it for Candace's and Agent Platyborg…" She broke into a half smile. "Yeah, I guess I will. Thank you… Phineas…"

….

**DEI**

The Reguritator still hadn't caught on. It seemed he'd noticed a certain change in Doofenshmirtz, but he wasn't acting too suspicious yet.

The figure in the shadows move quietly. The Regurgitator hadn't noticed him yet either. If he could just get a little further…

The Regurgitator bellowed. "Can you at least tell me if that's the right machine yet?"

Doof nodded. "Oh yeah, it's the right machine alright…"

The Regurgitator gave an evil smile. "That's all I needed to hear." He pointed the gun back at AJ, and Platyborg started struggling, with a frantic chatter.

The figure in the shadows knew then that he'd gotten as far as he was going to. He sprang down from the pipe he'd been crawling along, and hit the Regurgitator's shoulder just in time to cause him to misfire.

Out of the corner of his eye, Perry saw AJ duck as a crater appeared a foot from her shoulder. With a sigh of relief, he didn't waste any time slamming his fist into the Regurgitator's face.

And the Regurgitator didn't waste any time swiping his gorilla-like arm into Perry's gut.

He landed on the floor with the wind knocked out of him, but quickly leapt to his feet, with a challenging chatter. The Regurgitator fired again, this time, only missing by inches as Perry dodged. The chase was on.

Perry raced around the room, with leaps and flips, while the Reguritator tried to fire, and kept bellowing, "Hold STILL!"

But if he even saw the wrench, his foot didn't hit it right. The floor came up to meet his tail much too quickly, and he was too close to the Regurgitator. The man grabbed him around the throat, and tossed the gun aside.

The words gritted through clenched teeth. "I'm going to throttle you with my bare hands!"

Despite his predicament, Perry forced a smile. _Weren't you just__ holding a gun on somebody?_

The Regurgitator's eye's widened as another chatter answered. _Yes, yes he was._

Platyborg's semi-metallic body slammed into the Regurgitator's side, full force.

Perry braced himself up on one arm, using his other hand to rub his throat.

His counterpart was not happy, and it wasn't boding well for the Regurgitator.

The man couldn't do much more than hold his hands up in defense as Platyborg punched him repeatedly, slowly backing him up against….

Perry's eyes widened. _Platyborg, look out!_

The Regurgurgitator grabbed a weapon from the shelf behind him. It only turned out to be a metal pipe, but it was enough.

He swung it like a baseball bat, and knocked the platypus across the room. That gave him enough time to dive for the gun.

Perry tried to reach it first, but he fell an inch short.

"You ASKED for it!" He turned to fire at AJ, as Platyborg tackled him again, but AJ wasn't even there.

Alt. Doof stood beside her, with a remote, and a few extra guns in his hands.

Platyborg turned his arm into a blaster, and shot the gun from the Regurgitator's hands, as Doofenshmirtz tossed guns to AJ, Perry and Doof.

The one eyed man smiled. "You see, I found your weakness. Yourself." He pressed the button on the remote, and activated the security system he'd hooked back up. A thousand laser beams formed a cage around him. "Look's like you're trapped!"

Doof smiled smugly, like he was teaching an important life's lesson. "That's right! No nemesis, means no challenge. Where's the fun in that?"

The rest of the room blinked at him.

AJ cleared her throat. "I think he was going for the whole, caring about someone enough for them to be used against you may be considered a weakness…"

She walked over to Paltyborg, and stooped to give him a hug. "But it's also your biggest strength."

"Awwwww!" Doof smiled.

Alt. Doof just rolled his eye. "Working together and everyone's happy. Whatever. I was actually going for the whole 'you're going down like Donkey Clown' thing." More blinks followed the misquote.

His eye narrowed. "I've been thinking it over, and there was only a handful of people in that building when I got shot. Me, Perry Platyborg, the other me, Perry the platypus, and YOU."

He pointed his gun, and would have fired, but at that moment, Perry and Platyborg both shot the gun from his hands at the same time.

He jumped, startled, then crossed his arms. "Yeah, yeah, yeah… good guys don't shoot unarmed people trapped in giant cages… Whatever."

AJ picked up the two fallen weapons. "Well, it looks like we're done here. "Doofenshmirtz, thanks for the help, but you're back under house arrest until further notice."

He shrugged. "Never saw THAT coming."

"As for you, Mr. the Regurgitator… it looks like you're going to jail. For a LONG time."

They led him off, leaving Alt. Doof standing there. Platyborg turned and chattered. _Fight you tomorrow, Doofenshmirtz._

Perry saw the one eyed man smile a little. "Yeah, I'll try to come up with an evil scheme by then."

_And Doofenshmirtz? Thanks._

…..

**To be continued…**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: To be honest, I pictured this turning out better than it did. Let me know what you think, and don't hesitate to suggest changes, please!**

**Thanks for reading!  
><strong>


	39. Going Home

**Going Home**

The group arrived, announcing that the Regurgitator was locked firmly away. Luckily, Phineas, Ferb, and the gang had finished their part of the plan early. The how was covered in streamers, victory banners, balloons, bubbles, and about every kind of sweet food you could imagine.

As they celebrated, Platyborg turned to give Perry a high five. _We did it!_

Perry nodded. _You should be able to handle things from here. _

Platyborg frowned. _Are you leaving already?_

Perry chattered back. _I can't Annie's signal on my watch. She should have at least checked in by now. I have to see what's going on at home._

Platyborg nodded. _I understand. But first, we'll need to wipe Doof's memory, or else he'll know about your owners, and the secret to taking over the tri-state area._

He flew off, and in a few minutes came back with a small ray gun. _This is Doofenshmirtz's mind wiping inator. We can wipe his memories, like I promised._

Perry nodded, and motioned Doof over, while Platyborg went to get Phineas and Ferb to open the portal in the living room.

…

Doof blinked at the portal, then down at the inator. "We're going back? Oh good! I'm so sick of this dimension." Then he sighed. "I probably have to have my mind wiped, huh?"

Perry nodded.

Doof scratched the back of his neck. "Well, there's something I need to say first. Something I've been trying to say for a while."

Perry tapped his watch. _Well hurry it up! I've got to check on my family!_

Doof sighed. "This is, awkward, really. More so for you, actually, since you're the only one who will even remember I said this…"

Perry tapped his watch again.

"Okay, here goes… You know how in _this_ dimension, the other me turned the other you into a cyborg?"

Perry nodded.

"Well, I just wanted you to know… I wouldn't do that to you. Ever."

Perry blinked.

"I know, I know… we're nemeses and everything… and I've done some pretty low things, like trying to boil you in lave, and feed you to crocodiles, and then there was the whole Norm incident… but…

" I've been doing a lot of thinking… and, even if I could beat you in the first place, I've tried to picture tying you down to an examination table to… well… I could even _imagine_ it, so I don't think I'm even capable of turning you into a cyborg. We're still enemies and all that! But… hurting you that much? Treating you like dirt? I wasn't that bad with the whole butler thing was I?

"Oh and taking you from your family! Or using them to hurt you?"

Doof looked downright horrified. "I'd hate myself for doing something like that to you. You know?"

Perry rubbed his arm, feeling bad for being impatient. He nodded. _I know. And, thanks, Doof._

Doof gave a sigh of relief. "We're good then? Phew! I've just been needing to get that off my chest. Fire away!" He closed his eyes, and put his hands behind his back with a goofy smile on his face.

Perry pointed the gun, but it was awfully hard to pull that trigger.

Doof's voice played back through his head. _"or using them to hurt you?'_

He sighed. _Can't take the chance. Sorry Doof._

A green glow covered Doof, and as he blinked in surprise, Perry shoved him through the portal.

Platyborg appeared in the doorway in time to wave. _Thanks, Perry. And if you ever need anything… remember, that inter dimensional setting on your watch works both ways._

Perry smiled, and tipped his hat. _See you around, Platyborg._

Then he dove through the portal, and Platyborg closed it behind him.

…

_Good luck! I hope your family's okay._

He smiled, and walked back to the kitchen.

Everyone was trying to talk over each other, but nobody minded. Ferb was trying to get their parents on the phone, probably to tell them the good news.

Buford was stepping on Dr. Baljeet's candy bar.

Phineas was talking to Isabella, who was actually _giggling_ in the corner.

Candace was talking to some of the Resisatnace members, Jeremy included, and even she was laughing.

AJ, was standing there watching everyone. She smiled at him, and came over."You're missing all the fun. Isn't it good to have everyone back together?"

He nodded vigorously, and went over to the children, who were grouping up,

"Oh, there you are, Platyborg! Guess what! Mom and Dad said they have a surprise for us, and that tomorrow is going to be the best day ever! Isn't that great!"

He nodded, happy to see them so happy. It would be so good to have things back to normal around here.

The party didn't last long.

Slowly, people started going to their own homes, to tell their families the good news. Soon, only their closest friends remained.

Platyborg sighed contentedly. He was sitting between his boys, who were still telling the other kids how awesome the roller coaster was going to be when they got around to building it.

His wrist beeped, but her ignored it. Doofenshmirtz couldn't have built anything dangerous _that_ fast. Could he?

AJ must have answered and filled Major Monogram in, she called from the kitchen," He says good work, Platyborg, and the radar's clear for now. Anyone want ice cream?"

There was a chorus of, "I do!"s and the living room cheered as she brought out a tray.

"So, what's the plan guys?"

Phineas smiled. "We're going to fix the whole house and yard up tomorrow. Do you want help fixing your room, too? We already fixed up Platyborg's lair, but we're going to put up a pool in the back yard, and repaint the house, and we're going to make a machine first, so that we can fix everyone's house that wants us too… will you and Platyborg help us?"

Platyborg smiled at his owners enthusiasm.

AJ winked at him. "Sure thing! We'll probably have to go check on Doofenshmirtz at some point, but… you know… I was wondering. Maybe we could talk him into doing all his schemes after supper. That way, we would be able to spend the afternoons with you guys."

"Phineas had been beaming before, but now he lit up like a Christmas tree. "That'd be great! Please try it, AJ!"

"We'll se what we can do. I imagine he'll be in a more negotiating mood. Speaking of which… I'm going to call DEI and check on him."

"Okay, AJ!"

As she left, Phineas turned to Ferb. "I can't wait! Alright… who's house do we do first, after we test this thing on our house?"

Baljeet and Bufford and Isabella's hands shot up. "Mine!" In the same breath, Phineas said. "I was thinking Isabella's…"

Ferb blinked. "Well, her house _is_ right across the street."

Everyone seemed happy with that.

In fact, Isabella looked like she was floating on a cloud.

Platyborg snuck a look at his owner, and shook his head. Phineas was right back to planning out the next day's activities, as oblivious as he was about everything else.

He couldn't express how happy he was that these kids were getting the chance to grow up.

**To be concluded…**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: That's right folks! There is only one more chapter to go! Now, as for Perry and Doof, we'll here a bit from them in the next chapter, but if your really want to find out what was happening in the 1****st**** dimension, you'll have to go there… er, I mean, to my first dimension fic, Phineas and Ferb Season X, chapter 10. I'll try to have that up by tomorrow.**

**Until then, thanks for reading!**


	40. Another Summer Day

**Another Summer Day**

By the time Platyborg and AJ left for Doofenshmirtz's, the group had already painted the outside of their house bright blue, created a special formula that helped grass grow, and dug out the pit for the pool out back.

Platyborg wasn't sure what he expected to find.

The made their way to the top apartment, and opened the door.

AJ glanced around. "You haven't been overdoing it, have you?"

Alt. Doof was standing by the window, hands folded behind his back.

The train set he'd created for Cho-Cho has a glass case around it.

Platyborg stared at it in disbelief. _All that… and he's already sick of playing with the thing. Doofus._

The one eyed man spoke. "They're rebuilding. And some people are doing lawn work, and painting their houses. Its getting colorful again."

AJ sighed. "You make that sound like a horrible thing."

"Eh."

The two agents exchanged a look. "Eh?"

He nodded, still looking out the window. "I had my chance. I took over the tri state area. I defeated Perry the platypus. I ruled. And I blew it."

_Uh oh. This sounds like a tragic back-story to me…_

"I got Cho-Cho back, but I lost the Tri-state area. You do realize I'm going to have to take it back, don't you?"

AJ frowned. "Now wait just a second…"

He put his arm out, revealing the remote control in his hand. He pressed the button with his thumb, and a cage shot up around them.

Platyborg grabbed the bars with an angry chatter.

"And look at that! I've already got you trapped!"

He smiled evilly, and walked over to glower at them. "What are you going to do about that, huh?"

Platyborg rolled his eye, and poked him in the side.

He immediately jumped back, clutching his side, and whining, "OW! Perry the Platyborg, how could you…" He stopped, and looked down as he realized there was no pain.

Platyborg yawned. _Wrong side, Doofenshmritz._

AJ leaned back against the cage. "Look, we've been talking, and you need to step up your game anyway. I mean, who plots evil in the middle of a sunny day anyway? Isn't that more of a, I don't know, thunderstorm, nighttime sort of thing?"

"Hmmm. I can see your point. What are you suggesting?"

"How 'bout you let us go, and we'll come back to thwart you after supper. Deal?"

He crossed his arms, and stared at them. "Eh, I can live with that."

Platyborg did a fist-pump, clearly thrilled with that.

Doof tried to act annoyed, but it wasn't really working. He pressed the button, taking the cage down. "But I've already trapped you, so we have to take it from here, deal? You're the good guys, so you can't cheat or anything."

AJ looked at Platyborg, who shrugged. "Well, that's fair enough."

"And don't be late!" Despite his gruff, clipped tone, it was clear that he enjoyed the thought of scheming again.

Platyborg frowned. _Just don't over do it._

They turned and left, half expecting him to trap them again tell the deal was off.

They made it to the ground floor without incident.

AJ sighed. "I shudder to think what he's going to do with this place, now that he's stuck there again. After all, no one want to life next door, let alone in the _building_ with that maniac, so he's got the whole thing to himself.

Platyborg shrugged. It'd be interesting alright. All of a sudden his wrist beeped. He pressed a button on his arm, and Perry's face came on screen. He chattered a greeting.

_Just wanted to let you know the mind wiper worked on Doof, and the situation's cleared up here._

Platyborg frowned. _Situation?_

_Yeah. This Khaka Peu Peu guy came after the boys, but they're alright. He fought Annie, but he got the worst end of the deal._

Platyborg couldn't imagine the quiet book-reading counterpart fighting as good as his AJ, but he nodded anyway. _I'll bet._ After all, if the guy was after the boys… wait…_ Why was he after your boys?_

_He's mad because he never made the most of it like they do every day. Better keep an eye out for him. He mostly just sits at home and does nothing though._

Platyborg saluted. _Thanks for the heads up. You get back to your family… I'm sure they've missed you._ The frantic cries of, "Perry!" in the background was a tip off that the platypus was sorely missed.

_Gotta go! Take care!_

_You too!_ He closed the connection, and smiled up at AJ.

"Everything alright?"

He nodded.

"Great! Let's get back before they finish having all the fun!"

….

There was still plenty of fun to be had. They got back in time for Platyborg to help finish setting up the pool, while AJ helped Ferb work out a super water pump that would get it filled.

Now they were all just lounging in the cool water. Buford kept splashing, but everybody else just tried to stay clear from his. They'd fought enough for now.

Platyborg gave a contented sigh as Phineas rubbed his head, and Ferb scratched under his bill. Whatever came their way, they'd all be ready for it. Doofenshmirtz was trying to take over again, but he seemed to be making an effort to play fair this time.

The second dimension was safer now.

**The End**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, that does it for this story! Thanks for reading everybody, and special thanks to everyone who reviewed! And special, special thanks too...  
><strong>

**NattyMc (Happy Birthday again!) Pricat, and WordNerb93 for reviewing every single chapter! You guys are the best!  
><strong>

**I hope you enjoyed it!  
><strong>


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